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JESSIE  E,  SAMPT1 


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THEODOR  HERZL 


From   an   etching  by   Hermann   Struck 
Reprinted    by   courtesy    of    the   Menorah    Journal 


A  Guide  to  Zionism 


Edited  by 
JESSIE  E.  SAMPTER 


ZIONIST  ORGANIZATION  OF  AMERICA 

55     FIFTH     AVENUE 

NEW  YORK  CITY 


Copyright  1920 

Zionist    Organization    of    America 

New  York  City 


Table  of  Contents 


Publisher's   Note    vii. 

Preface    1 

Chapter  Page 

I.     Introductory    Survey    4 

II.    The    Jewish    Situation 14 

III.  The  Jewish  Ideal  of  Nationalism 19 

IV.  The  National  Ideal  in  Jewish  History 23 

V.     Emancipation,  Haskalah,  Reform 30 

VI.     Anti-Semitism  and  Jewish  Nationalism 35 

VII.     Forerunners   of   Zionism 40 

VIII.     Hoveve   Zion    47 

IX.    Theodor  Herzl   50 

X.     The  International  Zionist  Organization 57 

XI.  The  Jewish  National  Fund  and  the  Jewish  Colonial 

Trust    64 

XII.     Zionism  in  America  Before  the  World  War 71 

XIII.  The  War  and  Zionist  Political  Action 79 

XIV.  The  War  and  Zionist  Political  Action  (Continued) ...  90 
XV.     Factions  and  Tendencies  in  Zionism. . s/. 101 

XVI.    The  Hebrew  Revival  in  the  Dispersion 108 

XVII.    Ahad   Ha-am    .y 116 

XVIII.     Zionism    and    Judaism. VT. 121 

XIX.    The  Jewish  Law  and  the  Jewish  Land 126 

XX.     Social  Justice  in  the  Jewish  State 132 

XXI.    The  Geography  of  Palestine 139 

XXII.    The  Geography  of  Palestine  (Economic  Aspects) 148 

XXIII.  The  Jews  in  Palestine  Throughout  History 152 

XXIV.  Early  Modern  Jewish  Immigration  and  Colonization.  159 
XXV.    The  Development  of  the  Jewish  Villages 165 

XXVI.  The  Relation  of  Palestinian  Jews  with  other  Peoples.  172 

XXVII.     Life  in  the  Cities  of  Palestine 177 

XXVIII.    The  Problems  of  Sanitation  in  Palestine 186 

XXIX.    The   Resources   of  Palestine 191 

XXX.  Commerce  (including  Transportation  and  Finance) . .  197 

XXXI.    Jewish  Education  in  Palestine 202 

XXXII.    The  Hebrew  Revival  in  Palestine 212 

XXXIII.  The  Effect  of  the  War  upon  the  Jewish  Settlement 

in  Palestine    217 

Appendices   226 

Index    254 


a  o  *->  q  n  n 

tt  &  &  /<*  o  U 


List  of  Illustrations 


THEODOR   HERZL    . Frontispiece 

PANORAMA  OF  JERUSALEM 6 

THEODOR   HERZL    55 

THE  ANGLO-PALESTINE  BANK 70 

CHAIM  WEIZMANN   87 

GENERAL  ALLENBY'S  ENTRY  INTO  JERUSALEM 102 

MAP  OF  PALESTINE   151 

BARON   EDMOND  de  ROTHSCHILD 166 

THE  CITY  OF  HAIFA  183 

THE  HEBREW  UNIVERSITY  198 


PUBLISHER'S  NOTE 


"A  Guide  to  Zionism"  appears  at  the  instant  when  it  has 
been  announced  that  the  Supreme  Council  at  San  Remo  has 
decided  that  Great  Britain  is  to  be  the  mandatory  power  for 
Palestine  to  develop  it  as  the  Jewish  homeland.  At  any  mo- 
ment, the  Treaty  of  Peace  with  Turkey  may  be  signed,  to 
signalize  for  the  scattered  millions  of  Jews  the  end  of  exile, 
the  beginning  of  a  new  era  of  constructive  effort.  For  a  while, 
our  feelings  will  be  too  intense  for  easy  expression  and  the 
necessary  perspective  lacking  for  a  complete  account  of  the 
epochal  happenings  of  the  past  year.  It  has  therefore  been 
deemed  inadvisable  to  make  a  complete  revision  of  the  text, 
although  Miss  Sampter's  departure  for  Palestine  has  delayed 
the  publication  of  the  volume,  and  she  would  now  perhaps 
desire  to  make  certain  changes.  In  its  essentials,  the  editor's 
work  is  still  the  most  recent  and  the  most  complete  essay  on 
Zionism  ever  published  in  America,  and  as  such,  will  do  valu- 
able service. 

A  large  number  of  devoted  Zionists  have  helped  see  the 
volume  through  the  press,  and  a  hearty  but  entirely  inadequate 
expression  of  appreciation  is  here  made  to  every  one  of  them. 


PREFACE 

It  is  almost  four  years  since  the  publication  of  A  Course  in 
Zionism,  the  first  attempt  at  a  Zionist  textbook,  and  that  book  is  now 
out  of  date  as  well  as  out  of  print.  With  all  its  imperfections,  its 
purpose  has  been  achieved.  In  its  Introduction,  we  read  that  "the 
book  necessarily  suffers  from  many  defects  that  should  be  corrected 
in  a  later  edition."  That  is  its  achievement.  It  has  deserved  a  second 
edition. 

The  present  book  with  its  new  title  and  its  new  form  is  never- 
theless a  successor  to  the  Course.  Experience  has  proved  what  were 
the  defects  to  be  remedied,  and  the  changes  wrought  by  three  years 
of  tumultuous  history  have  also  changed  our  needs.  If  the  book  in 
its  transformation  has  grown  to  more  than  twice  its  former  size,  so, 
too,  have  the  problems,  the  facts  and  the  Zionist  movement  itself.  No 
doubt  this  book  with  its  greater  size  suffers  from  even  more  imper- 
fections than  did  its  predecessor.  Our  hope,  then,  must  lie  in  a  third 
edition.  We  are  still  in  the  midst  of  upheaval,  the  book  goes  to  press 
while  the  Peace  Conference  in  Paris  is  deciding  the  course  of  action 
on  which  depends  the  life  of  nations  great  and  small.  Every  word 
now  spoken  is  provisional. 

The  purposes  of  the  book  are  manifold.  In  contrast  to  the  Course, 
it  is  written  in  chapter  form  and  in  a  readable  style  to  encourage  indi- 
vidual perusal.  However,  the  arrangement  is  such  as  to  serve  es- 
pecially the  needs  of  groups  of  students.  The  thirty-three  short  chap- 
ters could  be  read  aloud  at  as  many  weekly  sessions  of  a  study  circle, 
during  one  season.  For  those  meeting  less  frequently,  the  book  can 
easily  be  divided  into  two  or  three  seasons  of  study,  since  the  first 
ten  chapters  deal  with  Zionist  theory,  history  and  organization,  the 
next  ten  deal  with  more  specialized  phases  of  the  movement,  and  the 
last  thirteen  deal  with  Palestine.  In  more  intensive  classes,  such  as 
those  organized  for  our  future  leaders,  the  book  may  be  used  as  a  text- 
book to  be  read  between  meetings  and  supplemented  by  lectures  in 
class.  Each  chapter  is  followed  by  a  short  bibliography,  whose 
brevity  should  add  to  its  usefulness,  and  there  are  suggested  topics 
for  papers  on  related  subjects  that  might  be  prepared  for  and  read 
at  the  same  meeting.  Not  the  least  important  part  of  the  book  is  its 
appendices.     The  review  questions,  one  for  each  chapter,  may  be  used 


;  ..Q  U.I  DE     TO     ZIONISM 

either  as  leading  questions  at  each  successive  meeting,  or  as  test  ques- 
tions at  the  end  of  the  whole  course  or  of  any  section  thereof.  The 
suggestions  for  reading  circles  are  to  meet  needs  which  could  not  be 
supplied  in  the  body  of  the  book.  The  success  of  a  reading  circle  de- 
pends not  only  on  the  matter  chosen,  but  on  its  arrangement  and  on  the 
careful  limiting  of  its  length.  Time  should  always  be  allowed  for  dis- 
cussion. The  bibliography  was  chosen  with  regard  to  the  needs  of 
students.  Hence  its  subdivisions.  So  too  with  the  tables.  And  it  is 
hoped  that  the  index  may  make  the  book  of  use  for  general  reference. 
The  effort  has  been  to  concentrate  in  a  small  space,  and  in  a  not  uninter- 
esting form,  a  large  number  of  facts. 

Except  in  a  limited  bibliography,  the  book  does  not  deal  with 
Jewish  history  save  by  implication  and  reference,  any  more  than  it 
deals  with  Jewish  literature,  the  Hebrew  language,  Bible  study  or 
any  other  of  the  vast  fields  of  Jewish  lore.  Each  of  these  ought  to 
be  introduced  to  Zionists  by  another  publication  of  at  least  the  same 
size.  It  is  hoped  that  such  may  follow — especially  with  regard  to 
Jewish  history,  for  which  there  is  no  good  short  text-book  in  English — 
since  the  Department  of  Education,  created  by  the  Zionist  Organiza- 
tion of  America  in  June,  1918,  has  undertaken  this  task.  This  is  only 
its  first  publication  of  considerable  size  and  scope. 

Acknowledgment  is  due  from  the  editor  to  many  capable  and 
faithful  assistants.  A  number  of  the  chapters  were  written  by  persons 
whose  names  appear  in  their  proper  places.  This  gives  us  not  only  the 
benefit  of  expert  knowledge,  but  also  diversity  of  viewpoint.  Mr.  M. 
Sheinkin  of  Palestine,  who  wrote  the  last  chapter,  saw  many  of  the 
events  he  describes,  and  was  himself  one  of  the  Zionists  exiled  by  the 
Turks.  A  few  of  the  chapters  are  only  a  revision  of  material  in  the 
old  Course,  notably  that  on  Zionist  Organization  and,  in  large  part, 
that  on  Jewish  Education  in  Palestine,  which  was  originally  prepared 
by  Dr.  David  de  Sola  Pool.  Some  of  the  chapters,  especially  those  on 
Palestinian  colonization,  were  in  large  measure  compiled  from  the 
best  existing  articles,  and  direct  acknowledgment  could  not  always 
be  made.  For  example,  certain  passages  from  Recent  Jezvish  Progress 
in  Palestine,  by  Henrietta  Szold,  from  the  Palestine  Report  prepared 
for  the  American  Jewish  Congress,  and  from  the  essay  on  Jewish  Edu- 
cation in  Palestine,  by  Moshe  Mnuchin,  are  used  almost  verbatim. 
The  Department  of  Education,  in  the  persons  of  its  Secretary,  Henri- 
etta Szold,  and  its  Educational  Director,  Emanuel  Neumann,  as  well 
as  of  Emily  Solis-Cohen,  and  Dr.  Eugene  Kohn,  "have  given  assistance 
both  with  suggestion  and  revision.     Dr.  David  S.  Blondheim,  Lotta 

2 


PREFACE 

Levensohn,  Emanuel  Neumann,  and  Nellie  Straus  (Director  of  the 
Palestine  Survey)  gave  many  hours  of  careful  revision  to  the  manu- 
script. Others  who  were  helpful  in  the  preparation  of  individual 
chapters  are  Abraham  Goldberg,  Dr.  Richard  Gottheil,  Jacob  deHaas, 
Executive  Secretary  of  the  Zionist  Organization  of  America,  Louis 
Lipsky,  its  Secretary  for  Organization,  Dr.  Ben  Zion  Mossinsohn, 
Director  of  the  Hebrew  Gymnasium  in  Jaffa,  Palestine,  and  Israel  Wolf. 

The  book  is  forward-looking.  We  are  poised  for  action,  and  the 
printed  word  is  too  static  for  our  purpose.  Everything  written  of 
Palestine  today  may  even  today  no  longer  be  wholly  true.  Rapidly 
as  spring  changes  the  aspect  of  the  world,  so  swiftly  are  events  likely 
to  color  with  more  vivid  hues  the  soft  and  still  too  often  barren  beauty 
of  Palestine.  It  seems  artificial  to  speak  of  Jewish  "colonies".  Our 
Jewish  settlers  themselves  object  to  the  word  with  its  false  connota- 
tions of  conquest  and  impermanence.  It  is  the  forward  straining  of 
vision  that  has  prompted  the  use  of  the  more  apt  and  normal  term 
of  "Jewish  villages." 

The  best  arguments  are  facts.  This  book  contains  few  other 
arguments,  since  its  purpose  is  not  to  defend  the  truth,  but  to  tell  it. 
Many  delusions  still  give  support  to  the  defeated  forces  of  Jewish  anti- 
Zionism,  among  them  the  fear-psychology  which  can  even  drive  our 
haunted  assimilationists  to  accuse  Zionists  of  lack  of  whole-hearted 
Americanism.  They  fear  an  unjust  accusation  which  has  been  brought 
against  Jews  often  enough  throughout  history — they  fear  the  accusa- 
tion, not  the  crime — but  here  and  now  the  only  danger  of  it  springs 
from  their  expression  of  fear.  Present-day  history  must  startle  them 
out  of  that  nightmare.  A  full  statement  of  facts  should  cure  that,  as 
well  as  other  hazy  misconceptions,  with  their  unhealthy  and  possibly 
harmful  effects.  The  nobility  of  our  ideal  is  its  guarantee  of  American 
soundness.  Facts,  facts,  and  more  facts  alone  will  prepare  us  for  our 
pioneering  here  or  in  Palestine. 

JESSIE   E.   SAMPTER. 

NEW  YORK 


A  GUIDE  FOR  THE  STUDENT  OF  ZIONISM 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY  SURVEY^ 

The  Jews  are  a  people  with  a  continuous  and  recorded  history  of 
more  than  three  thousand  years.  This  people  numbers  today  nearly 
fourteen  million  souls.  The  greater  part  of  this  dispersed  people  is 
living  in  national  concentration  within  a  number  of  countries,  in 
distinct  and  self-contained  communities  that  are  kept  separate  by  the 
inner  pressure  of  a  peculiar  way  of  life  or  a  peculiar  emotional  char- 
acter, both  preserved  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  by  religious  sanction, 
and  frequently  by  the  outer  pressure  of  prejudice  or  special  legislation. 

The  millions  of  Jews  in  the  world  are  descendants  of  the  nation 
in  Palestine  that  was  conquered  and  that  was  dispersed  two  thousand 
years  ago.  They  are  as  distinct  a  national  element  as  the  Belgian  or 
Polish  people,  since  they  have  preserved  their  national  individuality. 
No  one  can  point  to  a  moment  of  time  at  which  the  Jewish  people 
lost  their  national  character. 

Besides  a  purity  of  race  as  great  as  that  of  any  nation  living  on 
its  own  soil,  the  Jewish  people  has  also  preserved  at  least  four  of  the 
chief  factors  of  national  life;  namely,  laws,  customs,  history,  and 
language.  A  fifth  national  factor,  religion,  has  been  the  means  of  pre- 
serving the  other  four.  Religion  has  therefore  been  the  chief  national 
asset  of  the  Jew. 

The  Jews  Recognized  Everywhere  as  Distinct  People 

Certain  portions  of  the  Jewish  people  have  lost  national  will  and 
energy,  and  it  is  this  fact  that  has  led  to  the  use  of  the  word  "race" 
instead  of  "nation"  or  "people"  to  designate  the  Jews.  It  is  a  degrading 
term,  for  it  implies  that  the  Jews  have  kept  the  body  but  lost  the  soul 
of  nationalism.  The  modern  anti-Semitism  of  Western  Europe  is  a  direct 
outcome  of  this  weakening  of  national  will,  for  anti-Semitism  is  not 
national  or  religious  hatred,  but  race  hatred.  It  arises  as  a  protest  against 
Jewish  efforts  to  assimilate.  The  older  Jew-hatred  and  persecutions 
were  directed  against  the  Jew's  efforts  to  retain  his  individuality. 

Whether  the  Jews  attempt  to  preserve  their  national  individuality 
or  to  destroy  it,  they  meet  the  opposition  accorded  to  aliens.    The 


INTRODUCTORY  SURVEY 

name  "Jews"  is  the  designation  of  a  certain  people  conquered  and 
driven  from  their  homeland.  The  name  of  their  national  religion, 
Judaism,  is  derived  from  their  national  designation.  An  unreligious 
Jew  is  still  a  Jew,  and  he  can  with  difficulty  escape  his  allegiance  only 
by  repudiating  the  name  of  Jew.  In  some  countries  the  Jews  are 
despised  as  a  subject  people  without  civic  rights.  But  even  in  many 
of  the  countries  where  they  are  emancipated  and  legally  accepted 
as  citizens,  they  are  still  looked  upon  as  aliens  with  special  privileges. 
They  are  always  a  special  economic  problem,  envied  when  too  suc- 
cessful, because  they  are  not  actually  the  people  of  the  land.  Any 
unusual  situation  reveals  their  detachment,  such  as  war,  for  instance, 
which  causes  them  to  be  specially  praised  for  a  loyalty  that  is  taken 
for  granted  within  a  nation. 

Though  in  certain  places  and  ages  the  Jews  may  be  highly  valued 
as  individuals  and  in  small  communities,  a  very  large  immigration 
always  meets  with  a  partly  justifiable  resistance.  Each  nation  has  a 
right  to  its  land  and  its  individuality.  And  too  large  an  immigration 
may  be  considered  almost  an  invasion.  The  Jew  is  like  the  beggar 
"on  the  town"  who  has  no  house.  When  he  is  driven  from  one  house, 
he  must  perforce  seek  another.  He  does  not  come  because  he  desires 
it,  but  because  he  cannot  help  himself.  His  visit  is  no  honor  and  his 
welcome  must  always  be  precarious. 

Neither  the  high  standing  of  the  Jew  nor  his  approach  to  assimi- 
lation, nor  yet  the  enlightenment  of  the  country  in  which  he  seeks 
refuge,  nor  even  liberal  laws  and  emancipation  are  any  adequate 
defence.  One  cannot  legislate  away  prejudice  and  hatred.  The  Drey- 
fus case  occurred  in  enlightened  France.  In  the  United  States,  where 
the  unformed  national  character  and  the  foreign  background  of  the 
majority  of  the  people,  make  the  position  of  the  Jew  peculiarly  favor- 
able at  present,  we  have  the  agitation  against  the  Negro  in  the  South 
and  the  Asiatic  in  the  West  to  remind  us  that  we  cannot  depend  on 
American  enlightenment  as  an  unfailing  safeguard  against  race- 
prejudice. 

The  "haven  of  refuge"  idea  must  be  abandoned.  No  nation  ought 
to  concentrate  wholly  within  another  nation.  National  justice  demands 
that  each  nation  should  have  its  own  land. 

The  Three  Possible  Ways  Out 

The  conclusion  is  obvious.  The  Jews  must  either  reconcile  them- 
selves to  a  present  and  future  of  calamity  and  disaster,  or  they  must 
assimilate  and  disappear  as  a  separate  people,  or  they  must  once  again 
become  a  nation  with  a  land  of  their  own. 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

The  first  is  inhuman.  Even  those  Jews  who  believe  that  all 
nationalism  in  itself  is  evil,  the  cosmopolitans,  must  grant  that  were 
such  a  loss  of  national  individuality  possible  or  desirable,  it  could  not 
come  to  pass  for  many  generations.  No  thinking  and  feeling  Jew  can 
say,  "Until  that  consummation,  let  the  Jewish  tragedy  continue." 
Furthermore,  why  should  the  Jew  accept  and  profess  every  nationality 
but  his  own? 

The  second  is  impossible.  The  whole  Jewish  population  cannot 
be  absorbed.  It  assimilates  by  absorption  of  its  outer  fringes,  like  all 
other  peoples,  but  it  cannot  and  it  will  not  disappear  in  bulk.  It 
reproduces  itself  more  rapidly  than  it  loses  in  numbers  by  assimilation, 
as  figures  could  easily  show.  Such  a  process,  too,  being  slow  moral 
suicide,  would  be  degrading  beyond  words.  In  the  process  the  Jews 
would  indeed  become  merely  a  race,  a  people  different  but  not 
distinctive,  an  anti-climax,  a  caricature  of  their  former  selves,  and  a 
blot  on  their  own  heroic  history.  But  the  Jews  are  saved  from  such 
a  fate  by  their  strong  will  to  live  and  their  sense  of  personal  dignity. 

By  a  negative  process,  a  process  of  elimination,  we  have  reached 
the  conclusion  that  the  only  hope  for  the  Jew  lies  in  a  land  of  his  own. 
But  Zionism  is  not  merely  a  balm  for  wounds  or  even  merely  a  cure. 
It  is  an  enhancement  of  life,  a  promise  of  achievement.  To  the  world, 
the  Jewish  race  is  a  race  worth  preserving,  and  the  Jewish  national 
ideal  is  a  noble  and  valuable  ideal. 

The  strength  and  quality  of  the  Jewish  race  are  proved  by  three 
facts :  its  endurance  and  increase  through  centuries  of  oppression  and 
persecution ;  its  large  number  of  individuals  of  high  achievement  in  all 
departments  of  life  in  spite  of  numberless  obstacles  and  handicaps; 
and  lastly,  the  high  standard  of  social  morality  in  its  communities. 
No  signs  of  permanent  physical  race  deterioration  have  appeared. 

The  Ideals  of  Jewish  Nationalism 

It  is  hard  to  evaluate  the  national  ideal  of  a  people  without  a 
land  and  without  a  state.  The  prophetic  or  missionary  character  of 
the  Jewish  people,  implied  by  the  word  "chosen,"  recognized  in  all 
ages,  has  been  variously  interpreted.  To  the  Christians,  this  quality 
culminated  in  Jesus,  their  Christ,  who,  according  to  them,  gave  to  the 
Christian  world  the  divine  inheritance  cut  off  from  a  sinful  Israel.  To 
a  certain  minority  among  the  Jews  the  word  "chosen"  means  a  literal 
and  individual  superiority  of  the  Jews,  whose  mission  it  is,  scattered 
among  the  nations,  to  enhance  the  morality  of  their  Gentile  neighbors. 
Such  a  view  is  not  only  rightfully  resented  by  their  quite  normal  and 


INTRODUCTORY     SURVEY 

quite  moral  Gentile  neighbors,  but  it  is  disgusting  to  the  modest  and 
sensible  Jew  himself.  The  Jews  claim  no  individual  superiority.  Nor 
do  the  exhortations  of  Moses  and  the  later  Prophets  point  to  the  fact 
that  as  a  mass  of  individuals  they  could  ever  all  claim  such  surpassing 
virtue.  It  is  true  that  Jesus  transmitted  to  the  Gentile  world  the 
Jewish  code  of  personal  morals.  This  has  now  been  thoroughly 
assimilated  by  the  Christian  world.  Nor  have  the  Jews  anything  to 
gain  or  give  by  a  claim  to  priority  and  a  dowager's  testy  demand  for 
gratitude. 

To  the  traditional  Jew  the  meaning  of  "chosen"  is  quite  different. 
It  was  the  nation  that  was  chosen  for  a  national  task;  not  the  indi- 
vidual Jew.  To  justify  this  choice,  the  nation  must  suffer  and  labor 
and  be  severely  punished  and  be  lashed  into  obedience.  God  manifests 
his  justice  through  human  history,  the  history  of  nations.  National, 
international  morality  is  the  peculiar  and  still  untried  and  unfulfilled 
ideal  of  Jewish  teaching.  "All  the  nations  shall  walk  in  the  way  of 
the  Lord."  The  Jewish  people  is  a  chosen  people — not  a  chosen  mass 
of  individuals.  Palestine  is  a  Holy  Land :  that  means  the  land  where 
the  Jewish  people  is  to  work  out  its  destiny.  Imperialism  is  precluded. 
One  land  for  one  people.  If  the  Jewish  people,  chosen  for  this  task 
of  national  regeneration,  proves  itself  unworthy,  it  is  to  forfeit  the 
land.  Unless  you  are  a  righteous  people,  says  the  Lord,  you  cannot 
keep  the  land  I  lend  to  you  on  this  condition.  How  different  from  the 
principle  that  necessity  knows  no  law,  and  that  the  welfare  of  the 
nation  is  the  supreme  and  only  moral  criterion  of  individual  action! 

The  Jews  today  believe  and  repeat  in  their  prayers  that  they  were 
banished  from  their  land  because  they  were  unworthy.  They  also 
believe  and  repeat  that  their  exile  is  a  punishment  and  a  discipline, 
and  that  they  are  at  last  to  return  to  Jerusalem  with  singing,  and  to 
Zion  with  everlasting  joy.  Then  will  all  the  nations  accept  the  yoke 
of  the  Lord,  and  walk  in  His  ways. 

Such  is  the  poetry,  the  romance  of  Jewish  ideals.  Practically, 
it  expresses  itself  in  laws  of  social  righteousness  and  in  the  ideal  of 
law  itself.  The  Jewish  people  have  from  the  first  stood  for  the  ideal  of 
democracy,  both  international  and  intra-national.  Democracy  is  a 
religious  ideal,  based  on  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  upon  faith  in  the 
equality  of  man — an  equality  of  what  may  be  called  primal  soul- 
dignity — the  relation  of  each  to  God  and  therefore  to  ultimate  justice. 
For  in  what  other  way  are  men  equal?  The  acceptance  of  the  ideal 
of  democracy  is  a  matter  of  faith,  for  it  cannot  be  based  on  expediency, 
since  undemocratic  states  are  often  more  efficient  than  democratic 


G  U  I  D  £     TO     ZIONISM 

ones.  And  so  far  democracy  has  never  been  fully  tried.  In  Jewish 
life  it  expresses  itself  in  the  ideal  of  impersonal  law,  which  precludes 
the  necessity  for  an  arbitrary  human  ruler.  One  of  these  laws  demands 
general  education — "And  thou  shalt  teach  them  diligently  to  thy  chil- 
dren"— others,  also  essential  to  democracy,  dictate  the  conditions  of 
land  ownership  or  lease ;  restrict  by  protective  laws  the  ancient  and 
formerly  accepted  institution  of  slavery;  safeguard  the  equal  rights 
of  all  before  the  law;  make  equal  provision  for  the  support  of  all 
members  of  the  community. 

But  it  is  not  so  much  the  individual  laws  that  express  this  demo- 
cratic spirit,  as  the  two  facts  that  the  law  was  given  to  the  whole 
people,  and  that  at  all  times,  while  there  was  a  commonwealth  of 
social  unity,  the  law  could  be  interpreted  and  developed  to  meet  the 
changing  needs  of  the  people.  As  a  theory  of  individual  morality, 
democracy  was  passed  on  to  Christianity,  which  is  a  personal  religion. 
As  a  theory  of  national  and  international  morality  it  is  still  untried ; 
it  is  the  ideal  to  be  worked  out  by  the  Jewish  people  in  the  Jewish 
nation.  Scattered  individuals  cannot  fulfill  a  national  ideal.  And  it  is 
an  ideal  so  noble  that  its  advocates  ought  at  least  to  be  given  a  chance 
to  fulfill  it. 

Democratic  Ideal  of  Zionism 

That  this  ideal  will  be  attained  may  be  inferred  from  the  facts  of 
Jewish  history  and  the  persistence  of  the  Jewish  people.  The  move- 
ment is  based  on  the  Prophetic  and  democratic  character  of  Jewish 
thought.  In  the  Zionist  movement  democracy  is  complete.  Equal 
suffrage  and  equal  representation  for  man  and  woman,  poor  and  rich, 
are  basic  principles  in  the  Organization.  And  the  continual  self- 
criticism  and  ferment — that  as  in  Prophetic  days  still  express  them- 
selves in  opposition  parties — seem  to  insure  at  least  the  preservation 
and  possibly  the  complete  fulfillment  of  the  Prophetic  ideals  in  a 
regenerated  Land  of  Israel. 

Palestine  in  Jewish  Thought 

By  the  mass  of  the  Jews  these  Biblical  ideals  have  never  been 
intellectualized.  They  are  transmuted  into  habit  and  emotion,  the 
character  of  the  people,  the  habits  of  democratic  organization  and 
lawfulness,  and  the  religious  love  of  Palestine.  This  passion  for  the 
Holy  Land,  an  inarticulate,  unreasoning  passion,  has  expressed  itself 
so  far  in  pilgrimages  and  in  individualistic  migrations.  Many  causes 
have  combined  until  recently  to  prevent  a  national  movement.     In 


INTRODUCTORY     SURVEY 

such  a  movement  the  love  of  the  Jewish  people  for  Palestine,  and  the 
place  of  Palestine  in  their  religion  and  history,  make  it  the  only  spot  on 
earth  that  could  draw  to  itself  the  masses  of  the  Jewish  people. 

Zionism  Expressive  of  Jewish  People 

The  Zionist  movement,  which  was  officially  and  politically  organ- 
ized in  1897,  might  be  called  the  articulate  and  self-conscious  agent  of 
the  Jewish  people.  This  gives  it  its  representative  character,  although 
its  organized  membership  may  form  a  minority  among  the  Jews.  The 
Zionist  Congress,  with  its  many  delegates  from  every  civilized  coun- 
try, has  been  the  Jewish  Congress.  For  inertia  cannot  be  represented, 
and  constitutes  no  opposition  by  its  failure  to  be  represented.  Could 
the  Zionist  sympathizers  be  counted,  they  would  surely  be  found  to 
constitute  the  bulk  of  the  Jewish  people.  Hundreds  of  years  of 
oppression  have  left  the  stamp  of  timidity  upon  the  national  will.  But 
the  will  is  there.  The  Zionist  movement  is  a  folk  movement,  a  repre- 
sentative movement,  as  is  proved  by  the  fact  of  its  rapid  growth  among 
all  classes  and  in  all  lands,  and  by  the  other  fact  that  most  of  the 
money  which  actually  supported  the  practical  work  in  Palestine  until 
recently  came  from  Jews  who  were  not  directly  affiliated  with  the 
Zionist  movement.  The  Zionists  are  the  agents  of  the  Jewish  people 
in  the  regeneration  of  Palestine.  The  Zionists  and  their  Jewish 
co-workers  have  proved  themselves  fit  to  be  the  agents  of  the  Jewish 
people.  Against  enormous  odds,  "without  the  help  of  anything  on 
earth"  except  their  own  resolution  and  courage,  with  opposition  from 
some  governments  and  with  concrete  help  or  encouragement  from 
almost  none,  at  the  cost  of  many  lives,  and  the  consecration  of  many 
more  lives  at  any  cost,  they  have  built  in  Palestine  the  normal,  whole- 
some and  flourishing  life  of  Jewish  agricultural  villages,  where  the 
Hebrew  language  and  Jewish  institutions  blossom  with  the  soil.  They 
have  trebled  Palestinian  trade  in  less  than  twenty  years;  they  have 
reclaimed  death-dealing  swamps  and  arid  deserts  for  the  purposes  of 
agriculture.  They  were  returning  to  its  normal  uses  and  fertility  a 
land  devastated  by  war  and  neglect,  but  whose  topography  and  cli- 
mate are  comparable  only  with  those  of  California.  All  this  had  come  to 
pass  unnoticed  by  the  busy  world  until  the  crisis  of  war,  when  the 
special  tragedy  created  in  an  always  tragic  land  drew  the  attention  of 
practical  philanthropists  to  a  social  organization  that  went  far  to  meet 
the  need  for  philanthropy.  The  Zionist  Bank  met  the  money  crisis  in 
Palestine  and  eased  the  situation  for  Jew  and  Gentile  alike.  It  issued 
paper  notes  that  for  a  while  were  the  only  accepted  media  of  exchange. 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

The  well-organized  villagers  had  their  grain  supply  ready  to  avert  or 
at  least  postpone  famine.  With  all  things  against  them,  including  the 
government  officials,  they  managed  to  be  the  saving  element  in  an 
otherwise  hopeless  situation.  And  where  they  failed,  the  organized 
Zionists  of  the  rest  of  the  world  stepped  in. 

Value  of  Zionism  to  Jews 

Zionism,  both  in  its  practical  Palestinian  work  and  in  the  organ- 
izing of  the  Jewish  people  everywhere,  is  of  immeasurable  value  to 
the  Jewish  people  itself,  even  before  the  attainment  of  its  avowed 
aim.  From  the  Jewish  point  of  view  this  cannot  be  doubted.  A  Jew 
who  appreciates  the  organizing  and  educational  power  of  Zionism  in 
all  lands,  who  values  the  noble  ideals  of  devotion  and  discipline  that  it 
demands  everywhere  of  Jewish  men  and  women,  one  who  understands 
and  rejoices  that  the  revival  of  Jewish  education  in  the  last  years  is 
due  to  the  development  of  Hebrew  language  and  thought  in  Palestine 
— such  a  one  must,  to  be  consistent,  support  the  Zionist  Organization. 

International  Value  of  a  Jewish  Center 

These  are  the  facts :  Such  is  the  people,  and  such  is  the  ideal  of 
the  self-conscious,  articulate,  organized  part  of  that  people.  What  is 
the  attitude  of  the  world  of  nations  towards  this  dispossessed  orphan 
of  a  princely  race?  Every  nation  has  its  fraction  of  this  broken  nation. 
Every  land  has  its  Jewish  problem,  whatever  varying  forms  it  may 
take.  Zionism  will  not  appreciably  lessen  the  number  of  Jews  in  any 
land,  but  it  will  diminish  the  flux,  the  congestion,  the  disorganiza- 
tion caused  by  the  international  mal-adjustment  of  a  people  without  a 
polity.  It  would  probably  solve  the  problem  of  Jewish  mass  migra- 
tions from  one  country  to  another,  because  if  Jews  were  to  be  con- 
strained by  social  or  economic  causes  to  leave  one  land,  they  would 
naturally  turn  to  their  own  land  rather  than  to  another  strange  coun- 
try. And  the  loyalty  of  those  Jews  who  remain  in  all  lands  as  citizens 
will  be  assured,  because  they  will  no  longer  be  there  from  necessity, 
but  from  choice. 

The  Great  War  and  the  Jewish  Restoration 

All  these  ideas  were  matters  of  mere  Jewish  speculation  until 
very  recent  times — one  may  say  until  November  2,  1917.  Zionism, 
until  then,  was  a  struggling,  an  unfashionable,  a  minority  movement. 
Although  the  fruit  of  our  redemption  did  not  fall  suddenly  into  our 
laps,  but  was  a  long  time  ripening,  and  although  the  Zionists  them- 
selves, and  especially  the  leaders  of  the  Zionists  whose  labors  and 

10 


INTRODUCTORY     SURVEY 

devotion  helped  bring  the  fulfillment,  saw  long  in  advance  what  the 
happy  end  must  be,  yet  to  the  bulk  of  the  Jews  the  British  Declaration 
in  favor  of  Zionism  came  as  a  surprise  and  in  some  cases  as  a  shock. 
The  Zionists,  who  had  claimed  to  represent  the  Jewish  people,  were 
now  recognized  as  its  representatives  to  whom  the  nations  addressed 
themselves.  Upon  the  British  Declaration  there  followed  in  rapid 
succession — within  less  than  a  year — the  providential  steps  in  the 
Jewish  regeneration :  the  entry  of  British  troops  into  Jerusalem  on 
the  first  day  of  Hanukkah;  the  sending  of  a  Zionist  Commission  to 
Palestine  to  co-operate  with  the  British  military  government;  the 
declarations  in  favor  of  Zionism  by  international  socialist  and  labor 
conferences  and  by  one  after  another  of  the  Allied  Governments, 
notably  by  France,  whose  interest  in  Palestine  is  great,  and  by  our 
own  government,  which,  although  not  at  war  with  Turkey,  expressed 
its  approval  through  a  letter  written  by  President  Woodrow  Wilson 
to  the  former  Chairman  of  the  Provisional  Zionist  Committee;  and, 
following  quickly  thereon,  the  complete  conquest  and  the  rout  of  the 
Turks  by  General  Allenby  during  the  week  of  the  following  Sukkot 
festival.  The  closeness  of  life  and  death,  of  horror  and  rejoicing,  in 
the  crises  of  war,  was  exemplified  also  in  Palestine.  The  new  Jewish 
life  there  was  on  the  verge  of  destruction,  had  already  its  thousands 
of  victims  of  persecution  and  hunger,  when  the  final  deliverance  came. 

Meanwhile  from  the  Jewish  spirit  there  sprang  forth  also  the 
force  and  dignity  to  meet  the  new  situation.  In  spite  of  the  stupid 
Jewish  opposition  which  had  blindly  striven  to  block  the  path  of  light 
and  justice,  and  which  in  some  measure  still  persisted  and  persists  in 
increasingly  stupid  forms,  the  general  unanimity  of  the  Jewish  people 
in  acclaiming  the  British  and  subsequent  declarations  was  truly 
remarkable.  Rarely  has  any  national  movement  advanced  in  such 
serried  ranks.  So  closely  was  the  Jewish  ideal  of  nationality  bound 
up  with  the  Allied  ideal  of  the  rights  of  small  nations,  that  whereas 
some  anti-Zionists  had  mistakenly  questioned  whether  one  could  be 
both  a  Zionist  and  a  good  American,  that  question,  with  its  implied 
insult  both  to  America  and  to  the  Jews,  now  threatened  to  become  a 
boomerang.  Another  element  which  was  instrumental  in  solidifying 
the  Jews  was  the  presence  in  all  the  Allied  Governments,  among  the 
national  leaders  and  workers,  of  Zionists  who  were  also  Zionist 
leaders.  Especially  marked  was  this  in  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  High  in  the  Government  service  were  such  men  as  Justice 
Louis  D.  Brandeis,  Judge  Julian  W.  Mack,  Dr.  Felix  Frankfurter. 

From  all  sides  came  the  Jewish  response,  in  money,  in  service, 

11 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

and  in  grappling  with  problems.  This  was  not  strange  when  we 
remember  that  Zionist  statesmanship  had  been  continually  active  to 
bring  about  the  result.  A  legion  of  Jewish  soldiers  from  all  the  Allied 
countries  was  organized,  through  Jewish  initiative,  to  serve  in  the 
British  army  in  Palestine.  Immediately  the  problem1  of  Jewish  rela- 
tions to  the  Arab  and  Armenian  nations  was  considered  with  a  view 
to  justice  and  peaceful  co-operation.  Medical  and  engineering  help 
was  dispatched  to  the  war-harassed  land,  and,  last  but  not  least,  the 
Zionist  Commission,  in  the  person  of  its  leader,  Dr.  Chaim  Weizmann, 
laid  the  foundation  stone  of  the  Hebrew  University  on  Mount  Scopus, 
near  the  Mount  of  Olives. 

Zionism  and  the  Nations 

This  act,  appropriate  to  a  spiritual,  a  developed  people,  expressing 
itself  first  of  all  in  a  deed  of  the  spirit,  has  greatly  impressed  all  the 
nations  that  have  fostered  the  Jewish  restoration.  For  they  now 
understand,  after  two  thousand  years  of  misunderstanding,  the  mean- 
ing and  the  value  of  Jewish  nationality.  They  have  not  only  done 
belated  justice,  but  they  are  planting  security  for  themselves.  For 
the  new  Zion  is  to  be  a  pledge  of  peace  to  the  world.  "Peace,  peace 
to  those  that  are  far  and  to  those  that  are  near."  The  Jews  have  a 
distinct  national  task  at  the  gateway  between  three  continents,  Asia, 
Africa,  Europe.  They  may  come  to  be  the  guarantee  of  the  world's 
peace,  and  the  nations  will  expect  of  them  no  less  than  what  our 
Prophets  foretold.  The  nations  have  understood  also  the  claim  of 
justice,  that  the  Jewish  people  is  a  nation  whose  vital  interests  were 
at  stake  in  the  war,  whose  chief  centers  of  settlement  have  suffered 
horrible  disruption,  millions  of  whose  members  have,  through  no  fault 
of  their  own,  been  harassed  and  decimated  from  within  and  without, 
and,  above  all,  a  nation  whose  loyal  service  in  all  the  armies,  whose 
sacrifice  and  devotion  in  every  land,  have  entitled  them  to  justice  from 
the  nations  they  have  served.    At  last  the  nations  understand. 

The  Jewish  Obligation  to  Learn  and  Understand 

Now,  shall  the  Jews  do  less?  Shall  the  Zionists  do  less?  It  is 
a  fact  that  many  Gentiles  have  more  quickly  grasped  the  full  import 
of  Zionism,  its  political  as  well  as  its  spiritual  implications,  than  have 
some  of  the  Jews  themselves.  Through  their  long  dispersion  some 
Jews  seem  to  have  lost  the  capacity  for  political  thinking.  But  the 
day  for  action  has  come.  The  Gentiles  now  understand  us,  and  it  is 
our  first  duty  to  understand  ourselves,  in  order  that  we  may  be  fit  to 

12 


INTRODUCTORY     SURVEY 

serve.  A  lifetime  is  not  enough  in  which  to  gather  the  vast  store  of 
Jewish  knowledge.  But  a  few  hours  of  intensive  study  may  give  us 
enough  knowledge  to  understand  ourselves  at  least  as  well  as  our 
neighbors  know  us,  and  to  fit  us  for  the  task,  which,  though  it  may 
in  fact  keep  us  through  toil  and  sacrifice  even  from  the  fruits  of  study, 
will  make  possible  a  full,  free,  rich  Jewish  life  for  those  Jews  that 
will  inherit  the  promised  land  of  our  fathers. 

For  our  task  is  not  yet  ended.    In  truth,  it  has  only  begun. 

References: 

What  Is  Zionism?  by  Weizmann  and  Gottheil.    Zionism,  its  Theory,  Origins,  and 
Achievements,  by  Israel  Goldberg. 


13 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  JEWISH  SITUATION 

To  understand  the  solution  of  the  Jewish  problem,  one  must  first 
of  all  understand  the  Jewish  problem.  Many  persons  are  out  of 
sympathy  with  the  purposes  of  Zionism  because  they  do  not  know  the 
conditions  which  make  it  inevitable.  In  some  communities  in  America, 
where  there  are  half  a  dozen  Jewish  families,  assimilated  to  the  general 
population  and  Jewish  only  in  name,  it  is  practically  impossible  to 
conceive  of  the  existence  of  the  Jewish  people  except  through  definite 
historic  and  political  knowledge. 

The  Jewish  Population  in  Various  Lands 

In  the  world  today  there  are  nearly  fourteen  millions  of  Jews. 
About  half  of  these  are  living  in  Eastern  Europe,  that  is,  Russia, 
Poland,  Rumania,  and  in  those  new-born  nations,  formerly  the  border 
provinces  of  Russia  and  Austria,  where  the  fires  of  war  have  raged 
the  hottest.  Jewish  statistics,  which  were  never  accurate,  are  still 
less  so  since  the  smashing  and  devastating  blows  of  war  have  struck 
into  the  heart  of  the  world's  most  densely  populated  Jewish  centers. 
In  the  British  Isles  there  are,  approximately,  263,600  Jews,  in  France 
100,000,  in  Italy  34,300,  in  the  Netherlands,  106,300,  in  Germany 
615,000,  in  Austria-Hungary  2,258,000.  In  the  Balkans  there  are  scat- 
tered a  considerable  number  of  Jews,  including  those  in  Salonica, 
which  has  been  called  a  Jewish  city,  and  which  has  changed  its  na- 
tional status  several  times  in  recent  history,  but  not  its  Jewish 
population.  Scattered  throughout  Turkey  there  were  before  the  war 
about  357,500  Jews.  Of  these,  over  one  hundred  thousand  were  settled 
in  Palestine,  and  almost  half  of  them  in  the  new  national  Jewish 
settlements  of  Palestine.  Practically  every  country  in  the  world  has 
its  settlement  of  Jews,  including  Morocco  and  China.  All  the  coun- 
tries of  North  and  South  America  have  some  Jews — in  certain  South 
American  communities  a  single  family  is  sometimes  found  in  a  city. 
The  United  States  has,  however,  stood  out  predominantly  as  the  new 
Jewish  center  of  gravity,  so  far  as  numbers  are  concerned,  to  which 
have  fled  the  millions  who  sought  to  escape  Russian,  Rumanian,  and 
Polish  persecution.     There  are  more  than  three  millions  of  Jews  in 

14 


THE     JEWISH      SITUATION 

the  United  States,  of  whom  about  one  and  a  half  million  are  concen- 
trated in  the  one  city  of  New  York.  New  York  City  today  contains 
more  than  five  times  as  many  Jews  as  any  other  city  in  the  world. 

But  numbers  do  not  tell  the  whole  story.  One  of  the  smallest 
centers  of  Jewish  life  has  always  had,  and  continues  to  have,  and 
promises  to  have  for  the  future  more  importance  than  all  the  vast 
Jewish  centers  of  the  dispersion. 

Palestine 

Palestine,  which  has  contained  some  Jews  at  all  times  since  the 
dispersion,  has  recently  allowed  the  Jews  freedom  of  development 
along  all  lines  but  the  economic.  Not  so  much  direct  or  discriminating 
oppression  on  the  part  of  the  Turkish  Government,  but  the  neglected 
condition  of  the  country  and  the  confiscatory  taxes,  have  made  eco- 
nomic progress  impossible.  However,  cultural  freedom,  and  a  status 
of  equality  in  civil  rights  with  the  Arab  and  other  populations,  was 
granted  to  the  old  settlements  of  those  Orthodox  Jews  who  went  to 
the  homeland  to  die,  and  to  the  new  settlements  of  nationalist  Jews 
who  were  building  up  a  regenerated  Jewish  life.  The  agricultural 
village  communities  were  autonomous,  as  is  the  case  with  all  villages 
under  Turkish  rule.  The  culture  of  the  neighboring  Arabs  was  too 
low  to  tempt  the  Jews  to  assimilation.  Hence,  with  the  impetus  of 
national  idealism,  of  the  anxious  watching  gaze  of  the  whole  Diaspora 
upon  them,  and  of  the  hope  of  cultural  and  political  independence,  these 
Jews  surpassed  all  others  in  freedom  of  intellect  and  spirit.  They  de- 
veloped a  distinctive  Jewish  life,  with  beauty  and  grace  of  expression. 
Hebrew  became  the  tongue  of  their  daily  speech,  the  Jewish  Sabbaths 
and  festivals  their  national  holidays.  A  new  regime  began  December 
10,  1917.     (See  Ch.  XIII,  XIV,  XXXIII.) 

Poland 

The  center  of  Jewish  life  and  culture  since  the  thirteenth  century 
had  been  in  Poland,  when  it  offered  to  the  Jews  autonomy  and  a  large 
measure  of  freedom  and  security,  and  when  the  Jews  who  were  perse- 
cuted in  Germany  found  there  a  haven  of  refuge  and  made  of  it  a 
center  of  Jewish  learning.  The  Yiddish  tongue  was  brought  with 
them  by  these  German  refugees  and  gradually  adopted  by  their  East- 
ern brethren.  Yiddish  is  about  70  per  cent  medieval  German,  with 
an  infusion  of  about  20  per  cent,  of  Hebrew  words  and  forms,  as  well 
as  of  some  Slavic  elements,  written  in  the  Hebrew  characters  and 
modified  by  usage  in  each  locality.    It  has  not  a  well-defined  grammar 

15 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

and  hence  no  standard  of  purity.  Until  within  the  last  century, 
Hebrew  was  considered  the  literary  language  of  the  Jews.  Never- 
theless, Yiddish  is  the  spoken  language  of  about  one-half  of  the  Jews 
of  the  world  and  has  developed  a  considerable  literature  in  recent  times. 
Poland,  through  the  three  partitions  of  1772,  1793,  and  1795,  was  split 
up,  with  its  Jews,  among  Russia,  Prussia,  and  Austria.  Anti-Semi- 
tism seems  to  have  flourished  especially  well  in  oppressed  Poland, 
taking  the  form  of  intensive  trade  boycotts  and,  since  the  Great  War,  of 
pillage  and  massacre. 

Russia 

Conquering  Eastern  Poland  and  the  Baltic  provinces,  Russia 
thus  became  a  huge  empire,  and  absorbed  the  Polish  Jews.  Since 
then,  until  the  Russian  revolution  of  1917,  their  fate  has  been  one  of 
increasing  bitterness.  From  Russia  proper  they  were  almost  wholly 
excluded.  In  so  brief  a  sketch  as  this,  it  is  preferable  to  draw  one 
picture  of  Eastern  European  Jewry,  including  Rumania  and  Galicia. 
In  these  countries,  as  contrasted  to  Western  Europe,  we  find  a 
certain  condition :  The  Jews  were  considered  a  distinct  and  alien 
people,  and  under  the  racial  and  autocratic  conception  of  nationality, 
they  were  therefore  persecuted,  segregated,  treated  almost  as  out- 
casts. All  this  was  done  in  the  name  of  religion.  Political,  civil, 
economic,  and  educational  rights  were  denied  them.  Everything  was 
denied  them  except  the  right  to  breathe,  and  even  that  occasionally 
was  taken  from  them  by  the  direct  means  of  pogroms  or  the  indirect 
means  of  expulsions.  At  present  the  disorganization  and  the  passions 
incident  to  the  close  of  war  are  causing  the  Jews  unspeakable  suffer- 
ing. But  it  is  impossible  to  foretell  the  future.  The  Jews  are  every- 
where claiming  national  and  individual  rights,  on  an  equality  with 
other  peoples.  The  measure  of  democracy  attained  will  no  doubt 
determine  the  measure  of  their  release  from  a  bitter  bondage.  But 
these  Jews  had  settled  in  a  simpler  age,  when  they  found  here  com- 
parative freedom  and  self-determination.  They  had  had  autonomous 
communities,  they  had  developed — especially  in  Lithuania — a  high 
degree  of  Jewish  culture,  learning  and  social  organization.  They 
had  become  compact,  national,  self-conscious  communities.  And  so 
in  spite  of  persecution,  of  pitiful  poverty,  and  of  the  degrading  influ- 
ences that  accompany  these,  partly  because  of  their  strong  foundation 
of  learning  and  traditionalism  they  still  remain  to  this  day  the 
treasure-house  of  Jewish  culture  and  learning  and  of  Jewish  national 
idealism.    The  forced  segregation,  the  exclusion  from  the  economic 

16 


THE     JEWISH      SITUATION 

melting-pot,  the  low  state  of  culture  of  the  surrounding  peoples,  pro- 
tected them  from  dissolution. 

Western  Europe 

Before  the  eighteenth  century  Western  Europe  was  the  scene 
of  the  most  brutal  torture  and  persecution  of  the  Jews,  but  it 
has  within  the  last  hundred  and  fifty  years  given  them  complete  civil 
emancipation.  This  was  granted  only  after  fierce  struggle  and  upheaval 
and  at  a  great  price.  The  Jews  of  France,  Germany,  Italy  sacrificed 
their  Jewish  national  spirit  to  the  cosmopolitan  nationalism  of  the 
Europe  which  emancipated  them.  (See  Ch.  V.)  But  this  emancipa- 
tion did  not  preclude  anti-Semitism;  so  that  the  Jews  of  Western 
Europe  have  had  only  a  limited  and  nervous  security  which  seemed 
constantly  to  demand  more  sacrifices  of  Jewishness.  The  Jews  have 
left  their  Ghettos;  they  have  general  education,  culture,  modernity. 
In  England,  France,  and  Italy  individual  Jews  have  risen  to  high 
government  positions.  But  each  generation  is  less  Jewish  than  the 
last.  Anti-Semitism,  which,  combined  with  civic  and  educational 
opportunities,  tends  to  destroy  Jewish  cultural  and  national  values, 
on  the  other  hand  is  perhaps  the  chief  force  in  preserving  the  Jewish 
race  through  forcing  the  Jews  to  recognize  their  own  racial  solidarity. 

America 

From  the  first,  almost  every  State  in  America  has  given  full  civil 
liberty  to  the  Jews  as  to  all  other  individuals,  and  has  also  through  its 
government  given  official  recognition  to  the  social  equality  of  the  Jews. 
All  positions  of  trust  have  been  open  to  them.  In  theory,  the  United 
States  grants  the  fullest  possible  freedom,  not  only  to  the  individual,  but 
to  the  Jewish  community  for  all  cultural  purposes.  Notwithstanding  this 
official  attitude,  social  prejudice  is  widespread  in  peculiarly  irritating 
forms,  and  even  at  times  results  in  economic  exclusion,  especially  in 
the  case  of  the  poorer  paid  workers.  The  Jews,  too,  fail  to  take  full 
advantage  of  American  opportunities  for  Jewish  development.  The 
earliest  and  smallest  immigration,  the  Portuguese  or  Sephardic,  has 
almost  disappeared  through  intermarriage.  The  German  Jews,  com- 
ing in  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century,  brought  with  them 
German  ideas  of  Reform  and  anti-nationalism,  and  withal  little  Jewish 
learning.  They  became  the  well-to-do  Jewish  middle  class.  The  East- 
ern European  immigration  of  the  last  thirty  years  has  in  large  measure 
staved  off  complete  assimilation.  It  is  responsible  for  the  vitality  of 
American  Jewish  life.    Yet,  being  looked  down  upon  socially  by  the 

17 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

earlier  German  immigration,  which  set  the  pace,  it  has  often  followed 
the  path  made  easy  by  the  Jews  themselves.  A  constant  decay  of 
Jewish  values  is  to  be  seen,  which  is  counteracted  only  by  the  stream 
of  new  immigration  and  by  Zionism. 

The  Causes  of  Assimilation 

The  conditions  that  everywhere  lead  to  assimilation  are:  (1) 
A  wide  scattering  of  small  groups,  so  that  they  lose  the  national  con- 
sciousness produced  by  physical  contact  (as  in  the  Western  United 
States  and  South  America).  (2)  Business  and  industrial  intercourse 
with  Gentiles,  which  breaks  down  Sabbath  and  dietary  observance, 
and  tends,  like  all  selfish  rivalry,  to  weaken  moral  resistance.  (3) 
The  consequent  breaking  away  from  religious  life,  which  is  national, 
destroys  the  Jew's  chief  national  expression  in  dispersion.  (4)  The 
attraction  of  all  kinds  of  learning  and  knowledge  tempts  him  to  forget 
or  neglect  specific  Jewish  culture.  In  Russia  many  Jews  underwent 
baptism  to  gain  the  privilege  of  studying  and  the  possibility  of  a  suc- 
cessful professional  career.  (5)  The  bait  of  social,  political,  or  edu- 
cational dignities — in  Germany,  for  instance,  army  and  university 
appointments.  (6)  The  infectious  weakening  of  organized  religion  in 
the  Christian  churches,  and  the  tendency  of  Jews  to  judge  Judaism 
by  Gentile  religious  standards.  (7)  All  the  demoralizing  forces  of 
wealth,  comfort,  ease,  which  after  long  suffering  tend  toward  ma- 
terialism. 

Is  the  break-up  of  the  Ghetto  with  its  persecutions  and  depriva- 
tions to  be  the  break-up  of  Judaism  and  Jewish  national  life?  Must 
we  choose  between  abnormality  or  extinction,  between  disease  or 
death?  Or  is  the  normal,  healthy  Zionist  position  to  be  the  savior 
of  Judaism  and  of  the  Jewish  people?  For  they  are  dependent  on  each 
other  as  the  wine  is  on  the  cup. 

References: 

The  Jews  of  To-day,  by  Arthur  Euppin.     Jewish  Life  in  Modern  Times,  by 
Israel  Cohen. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  Jews  and  the  Russian  Revolution.    The  effects  of  Jewish  immigration  into 
America. 


18 


CHAPTER  III 

THE   JEWISH   IDEAL   OF   NATIONALISM 

Why  should  not  the  Jewish  people  disappear?  Simplest  of  an- 
swers is  that  it  would  not.  The  right  to  life  and  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness belongs  as  truly  to  nations  as  to  individuals.  But  why  should 
not  all  nations  disappear?  Is  not  nationalism  the  cause  of  human 
hatred,  war,  and  oppression? 

Nationalism  and  Imperialism 

The  same  thing  can  be  said  of  individuality.  Before  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  lawful  society,  individuals  practised  hatred,  violence,  and 
oppression  against  their  neighbors.  The  strongest  robbed  and  en- 
slaved the  others.  We  cured  that  by  establishing  law,  not  by  killing 
off  humanity.  War  is  not  caused  by  the  cultural  differences  between 
nations,  such  as  language,  religion,  customs,  arts.  An  oppressed  na- 
tion may  fight  to  preserve  these  things,  but  the  cause  of  the  oppression 
is  always  covetousness.  Even  religious  wars  of  aggression,  when 
studied  carefully,  are  seen  to  have  had  economic  and  political  causes 
based  on  greed  or  love  of  power.  Many  of  the  worst  wars  have  been 
civil  wars  or  revolutions  involving  a  single  people  with  uniform  cul- 
ture and  language.  And  the  Great  War  did  not  divide  peoples  along 
national  or  racial  lines.  The  English  and  Germans  are  far  nearer  to 
each  other  racially  and  culturally  than  the  English  and  Japanese,  the 
Germans  and  Turks. 

The  real  cause  of  practically  all  wars  is  not  nationalism,  but  that 
diseased  form  of  nationalism  which  is  called  imperialism.  Nations 
have  robbed  each  other  without  remorse,  and  have  gloried  in  their 
conquests.  This  sin  has  been  so  common  to  nations  that  it  has  come 
to  be  considered  normal.  Hence  the  desire  to  destroy  all  nationalism. 
But  the  nations  are  not  deserving  of  death.  They  will  presently  learn 
the  lawful  co-operation  which  has  long  since  been  learned,  more  or 
less,  by  the  individuals  that  compose  them  and  by  the  communities  in 
their  interrelations  within  the  state.  Imperialism  is  in  fact  the  foe 
of  all  that  makes  nationalism  possible  and  noble.  It  wipes  out  dis- 
tinctions between  nations;  it  attempts  to  remake  its  conquered  terri- 
tory in  its  own  mold.  Where  it  neglects  to  do  that,  it  at  least  ad- 
ministers the  conquered  territory  for  its  own  interests,  not  for  the 
national  interests  of  the  inhabitants.  And  when  a  conquered  territory 
adopts  the  customs  or  culture  of  its  conquerors,  it  usually  picks  out 

19 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

the  worst  features  for  imitation.  Civilization  spreads  most  rapidly, 
not  its  art,  poetry,  music,  but  its  intoxicating  drugs  and  liquors,  its 
implements  of  war  and  its  contagious  diseases.  On  the  contrary,  it 
often  happens  that  the  conquering  nation  loses  its  own  distinctive 
culture  through  the  long  neglect  due  to  war,  and  adopts  the  culture 
of  its  new  dependencies.  Note  how  Greek  and  Jewish  culture  domi- 
nated Rome,  how  Roman  culture  dominated  the  conquering  northern 
hordes.  In  either  case,  imperialism  is  a  levelling  force  that  destroys 
national  individuality. 

Internationalism  Is  a  Development  of  Nationalism 

Internationalism  does  not  mean  the  destruction  of  nations  and 
one  vast  undifferentiated  humanity,  but  the  co-operation  of  nations 
in  a  society  of  nations.  The  very  word  international  implies  nations. 
Nations  are  the  units  in  internationalism  as  individuals  are  the  units 
in  society.  Higher  organization  does  not  mean  disorganization  lower 
down  the  scale.  Human  society  began  with  the  family.  Before  we 
had  nations,  each  city  was  independent.  But  we  still  have  families, 
cities,  provinces,  and  states.  And  so  we  can  have  internationalism,  a 
league  or  society  of  nations  only  on  the  basis  of  existing  nations. 
Oppression  always  results  from  long-distance  government.  The  ideal 
of  democracy  is  to  keep  government  as  local  as  possible.  Hence 
nations  would  always  remain  natural  centers  of  administration. 

Variety  Is  Essential  to  Harmony 

It  is  a  curious  perversion  of  ideas  to  think  we  should  have  peace 
if  we  were  all  alike.  Monotony  does  not  insure  peace.  Harmony 
and  sameness  are  not  only  not  identical,  but  in  fact  they  are  opposites. 
One  can  have  harmony  only  where  there  is  variety.  Music  needs  more 
than  one  note  for  its  production.  Think  of  humanity  not  as  an  arti- 
ficial organization  but  as  a  living  organism.  Each  nation  is  one 
organ,  each  different,  doing  its  own  part  in  relation  to  the  whole. 
As  individuals  scatter  and  travel,  but  each  has  his  own  national  center, 
so  do  the  blood  vessels  center  in  the  heart,  and  the  nerves  in  the  brain. 
In  the  economic  as  well  as  the  cultural  life  of  nations  this  holds  true. 
Internationalism,  in  giving  security  from  war,  would  tend  to  allow 
each  nation  to  develop  the  specific  industry  for  which  its  land  and 
population  best  fitted  it,  without  fear  of  being  left  unprovided.  There 
would  be  a  tendency  to  greater  division  of  labor  between  peoples,  to 
the  break-down  of  commercial  barriers  and  discriminations,  and  hence 
to  less  rivalry  and  waste.  The  fullest  development  of  nationalism  is 
possible  only  under  internationalism. 


THE   JEWISH    IDEAL   OF    NATIONALISM 

Nationalism  Is  a  Spiritual  Fact 

Nationality  is  character.  It  is  a  state  of  mind.  Nationalism  is 
the  sense  of  cultural  identity  among  the  individuals  of  a  political  or 
historic  group.  It  is  much  more  a  spiritual  than  a  physical  fact. 
Even  identity  of  race  is  not  absolutely  essential  to  it,  and  where  race 
is  the  strongest  bond  it  becomes  so  through  common  family  tradi- 
tions more  than  through  the  physical  fact  of  birth.  National  character 
consists  of  mental  developments  such  as  language,  manners,  customs, 
tastes,  and  expresses  itself  in  art  and  religion.  Religions  are  always 
national  in  their  origins  and  purpose  even  though  their  outlook  may 
be  universal,  like  that  of  the  Jewish  religion.  And  of  art  this  is  also 
true.  Each  school  of  art  expresses  a  certain  nation  at  a  certain  point 
of  its  history.  The  great  man  is  he  who  is  supremely  normal  and 
sensitive,  who  expresses  the  soul  of  his  people.  Hence  art  becomes 
the  bond  between  nations,  for  it  is  national  in  its  expression  and 
universal  in  its  appeal.  Although  internationalism  may  need  a  diplo- 
matic and  commercial  language  of  its  own,  yet  national  spiritual 
values,  and  even  international  sympathy  and  understanding,  require 
that  languages  shall  flourish  as  the  speech  of  the  national  soul.  To 
decrease  what  must  be  understood  is  not  to  increase  understanding. 
We  should  all  learn  several  languages.  We  should  exchange  cultures 
— but  then  we  must  have  cultures  to  exchange. 

Each  Nation  Needs  Its  Own  Land 

A  land  and  its  people  are  like  a  body  and  its  soul.  Geography 
and  climate  affect  character,  and  for  this  reason  alone  nations  would 
have  to  continue  their  individuality.  Except  for  war,  the  number  of 
people  in  a  nation  does  not  matter.  What  matters  is  its  solidarity,  its 
loyalty,  its  quality.  Those  who  migrate  cannot  and  should  not  be 
held.  They  should  be  free  to  form  national  cultural  groups  or  to 
assimilate  to  other  peoples.  They  can  have  that  freedom  only  if 
their  national  center  is  free  and  secure.  Such  freedom  and  security 
can  come  only  from  international  organization,  from  a  League  of 
Nations. 

The  League  of  Nations  Is  an  Old  Jewish  Ideal 

This  ideal  of  nationalism  and  internationalism  is  now  coming 
to  be  understood  by  the  world.  But  the  Jews  have  held  it  for  three 
thousand  years.  It  is  the  foundation  of  Judaism,  implied  in  the  most 
fundamental  teachings  of  our  Law  and  Prophets.    (Note  the  citations 

21 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

from  the  Prophets  in  the  list  of  references.  These  are  incomplete; 
they  are  simply  the  most  compact  and  striking  statements.) 

"All  the  nations  shall  walk  in  the  way  of  the  Lord"  means  inter- 
national morality.  Our  most  universalist  Prophets  were  nationalists 
and  internationalists,  not  cosmopolitans.  Their  ideal  of  brotherhood 
included  the  brotherhood  of  nations.  The  Jewish  God-ideal  implies 
democracy  and  internationalism.  Men  are  brothers  because  God  is 
their  Father.  All  ancient  nations  except  the  Jews  had  their  own 
particular  god  or  gods,  who  created  and  fought  for  their  own  people 
alone.  But  Israel  conceived  of  the  universal  God  of  all  nations  who 
created  mankind  and  fought  for  righteousness,  not  for  Israel.  We 
were  chosen  in  that  he  gave  us  the  law  of  righteousness.  But  when  we 
transgressed  it  we  were  punished  even  more  severely  than  those 
nations  who  had  not  accepted  it. 

Rome  tried  to  force  us  into  its  empire  by  forcing  emperor-worship 
upon  us  as  upon  the  other  nations  that  it  had  conquered.  We  stubbornly 
refused.  Medieval  Europe  tried  in  vain  to  force  us  into  its  Christian 
Empire  either  through  persuasion  or  persecution.  We  have  always 
remained  true  to  the  ideal  of  the  freedom  of  small  nations.  Our  re- 
ligion, which  taught  us  that  we  were  a  people  chosen  for  an  interna- 
tional task,  made  it  possible  for  us  to  keep  our  nationhood,  our  spiritual 
freedom,  through  two  thousand  years  of  physical  subjection. 

Hence  Zionism  has  a  peculiar  religious  and  international  signifi- 
cance, above  its  national  Jewish  claims.  Not  only  does  it  aim  to 
fulfill  one  of  the  oldest  of  God's  commands  to  his  people — "You  shall 
be  unto  me  a  kingdom  of  priests  and  a  holy  nation" — not  only  is  it 
the  logical  climax  of  Jewish  history  and  of  Jewish  faith,  but  it  comes 
into  the  world  providentially  when  the  world  at  last  is  ripe  and  ready 
to  see,  to  understand,  and  to  follow  the  law  of  God's  family  of  nations. 
Already  the  Zionist  demand  for  justice  and  freedom  for  a  small  nation 
has  profoundly  influenced  the  Allied  Governments  in  their  pronounce- 
ment of  the  rights  of  all  small  nations.  And  we  stand  awed  before 
the  call  to  a  new  Jewish  leadership. 

References: 

The  Book  of  the  Nations,  by  J.  E.  Sampter.  Lecture,  Department  of  Education : 
Nationalism,  Internationalism,  and  the  Jewish  Nation.  Bible:  Isaiah,  Ch.  2,  10,  11, 
19,  42,  49.  Jeremiah,  Ch.  25,  51.  Ezekiel,  Ch.  28,  29.  Book  of  Amos.  Micah,  Ch.  4. 
Habakkuk,  Ch.  1,  2.    Zechariah,  Ch.  2,  3,  8. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  national  movement  in  Italy,  Greece,  Serbia.  (Choose  one  of  these  or  any 
other  recent  national  movement  to  write  upon.)  The  national  ideals  of  the  Prophets 
as  exemplified  by  quotations. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   NATIONAL   IDEAL   IN    JEWISH    HISTORY* 
Zionism  Is  as  Old  as  Judaism 

When  one  considers  the  facts  of  Jewish  history,  it  becomes  clear 
that  Jewish  nationalism  is  at  least  as  old  as  the  Jewish  nation.  Nor- 
mally one  ought  to  expect  that.  We  were  a  people  in  our  own  land. 
We  lost  our  land  through  war  and  conquest,  and  just  because  of  the 
unusual  spiritual  and  religious  depth  of  our  patriotism  we  remained  a 
people  intact  for  2,000  years  without  a  land  or  a  polity.  Zionism  is  as 
old  as  the  Jewish  people  itself.  Certainly  it  is  as  old  as  Jewish  history. 
The  account  of  the  Patriarchs  in  the  Bible  is  full  of  references  to  the 
future  Jewish  nation  and  full  of  national  fervor ;  and  the  ideal  of  faith 
concerns  itself  not  with  individual  souls,  but  with  the  welfare  and  the 
role  of  the  whole  Jewish  nation  in  human  history. 

In  the  days  of  the  Egyptian  bondage,  we  already  find  the  factors 
of  the  Chosen  People,  the  Promised  Land,  the  national  leader,  and 
the  concept  of  a  national-spiritual  role  among  the  nations.  Before 
the  land  had  even  been  won,  the  people  had  already  pledged  itself  at 
the  foot  of  Mount  Sinai  to  put  into  action  a  complete  program  of 
national  arid  private  morality.  These  laws  included  purely  civil  and 
state  laws  which  could  have  no  application  outside  of  the  land.  The 
Prophets,  the  scribes,  the  rabbi-sages,  the  poets,  and  the  statesmen  in 
whom  the  Jewish  people  has  been  so  rich,  were  the  bearers  of  the 
historic  message  of  Zionism,  through  all  the  national  vicissitudes. 
Only  the  term,  the  name,  of  Zionism,  remained  to  be  coined.  Mathias 
Acher  (Nathan  Birnbaum)  was  the  first  to  use  that  name  for  the 
modern  Zionist  activity  in  1886.  The  idea  and  the  ideals  embedded 
within  it  have  had  other  manifestations  and  other  names;  essentially, 
the  prime  motives  in  Jewish  thought  are  to  be  looked  for  in  national 
idealism. 

Zionism  Is  an  Outgrowth  of  Messianism 

Zionism  is  the  lineal  descendant  of  the  Messianic  idea.  The 
Messianic  idea  assumed  various  forms  at  different  periods,  and  it 

*  Adapted  from  papers  by  Lotta  Levensohn  and  Dr.  Aaron  Schaffer. 

23 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

varied,  too,  with  the  leaders  of  the  times:  that  is  to  say,  it  was  not 
necessarily  expressed  in  a  more  advanced  form  at  later  periods.  For 
instance,  Isaiah's  conception  of  the  millenium,  of  the  golden  age  when 
Zion  was  to  become  the  spiritual  center  of  mankind,  is  hardly  com- 
parable with  the  Kabbalistic  speculations  during  the  middle  ages  as 
to  the  date  of  the  Messiah's  miraculous  appearance  to  lead  the  children 
of  Israel  back  to  their  own  land.  The  Messiah  was  at  times  conceived 
as  an  individual,  a  descendant  of  David  "Mashiah  ben  David 
Avdeha,"  who  would  appear  to  save  the  people  at  a  critical  time.  In 
another  conception,  he  was  to  be  the  model  king  who  would  re-ascend 
the  throne  of  David  at  the  "end  of  days" — as  the  biblical  phrase  has 
it — to  rule  in  righteousness  and  justice.  However,  in  the  popular 
sense,  he  was  (and  still  is)  to  be  the  Heaven-sent  redeemer  to  lead 
Israel  out  of  the  Exile  to  a  glorious  future  in  the  Land  of  the  Fathers. 
Then  again,  we  have  the  inspiring  prophecies  of  a  Messianic  era, 
"When  they  shall  not  hurt  nor  destroy  in  all  my  holy  mountain," 
"When  the  nations  shall  not  learn  war  any  more,"  "When  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord  shall  cover  the  earth  as  the  waters  cover  the  sea." 

The  Prophets  of  Israel  were  all  Zionists 

More  specifically,  we  find  the  idea  of  a  chastened  remnant  re- 
stored to  the  Land  of  Israel  enunciated  by  Amos  and  Isaiah,  in  times 
when  the  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  of  Judah,  respectively,  were  at  the 
zenith  of  their  power  and  prestige.  Amos  was  accused  of  sedition 
for  prophesying  both  the  destruction  and  the  ultimate  restoration  of 
Israel,  when  he  chose  the  royal  sanctuary  at  Bethel  whence  to  sound 
his  warning  of  woes  to  come.  Such  words  as  "Israel  shall  surely  be 
led  captive  out  of  his  land"  could  hardly  have  been  welcomed,  or  for 
the  matter  of  that  believed,  by  the  powers  that  be.  Amos  concluded 
his  message  with  the  excellent  Zionist  doctrine  that  "God  will  plant 
them  upon  their  land,  and  they  shall  no  more  be  plucked  out  of  their 
land  which  He  has  given  them." 

Isaiah,  more  than  a  hundred  years  before  the  destruction  of  the 
First  Temple,  iterated  and  reiterated  the  doctrine  of  Sh'ar  Yashub:  "A 
remnant  shall  return."  In  the  same  breath  that  he  foretold  national 
ruin,  he  promised  the  resumption  of  a  purified  national  life  by  a  frac- 
tion of  the  people  in  later  times,  who  would  take  up  the  national- 
spiritual  role  for  which  God  had  destined  the  Jewish  people  from 
the  beginning. 

And  the  great  unknown  Prophet,  whom  for  lack  of  better  knowl- 
edge we  call  the  Second  Isaiah,  arose  in  the  Babylonian  captivity  to 

24 


THE    NATIONAL    IDEAL    IN    JEWISH    HISTORY 

preach,  in  terse,  vivid  phrases,  that  Palestine  would  become  the  center 
of  the  world ;  that  all  the  peoples  would  be  drawn  there  by  the  spiritual 
and  moral  power  generated  by  the  People  Israel. 

Ezra  and  Nehemiah 

The  return  to  the  Holy  Land  under  Ezra  and  Nehemiah  was 
curiously  like  the  present  return  under  modern  Zionism.  It  was 
made  possible  by  the  declaration  and  good  will  of  the  government  of 
an  Empire;  and  it,  too,  was  undertaken  by  a  very  small  part  of  the 
Jewish  people,  strengthened  and  supported  in  their  effort  by  those 
who  stayed  behind.  But,  at  the  time,  it  must  have  seemed  to  have 
far  less  international  significance  than  the  present  movement,  and 
also,  since  it  took  place  after  only  seventy  instead  of  two  thousand 
years  of  exile,  it  was  less  extraordinary  and  marvelous. 

The  Jewish  Golden  Age  in  the  Future 

The  Jews  have  ever  seen  a  divine  purpose  in  their  history.  It  is 
this  which  gave  us  strength  to  endure.  The  ideal  of  the  millenium 
is  bound  up  with  the  life  of  the  Jewish  people. 

Always  the  Jewish  idea  of  the  golden  age  differed  from  the 
beliefs  of  the  other  peoples  of  the  ancient  world  (with  whom  the 
Jews  were  coeval).  For  the  Greeks,  for  instance,  the  golden  age  had 
coincided  with  the  childhood  of  the  human  race,  with  its  "age  of 
innocence,"  as  it  were.  The  Jew,  on  the  contrary,  always  set  the 
millenium  ahead  of  his  own  day — which  proves  what  an  incorrigible 
optimist  he  is.  His  faith  in  progress,  in  the  divine,  upward  trend  of 
human  nature,  has  never  wavered,  however  seemingly  conclusive  his 
experience  to  the  contrary. 

Persistence  of  the  National  Ideal  in  Many  Forms 

The  national  significance  of  the  Maccabaean  revolt  must  not  be 
overlooked.  Begun  as  a  defensive  war  against  the  religious  oppres- 
sion of  Antiochus  who  would  have  destroyed  Judaism  by  enforcing 
idol  worship  and  the  desecration  of  Jewish  Law,  it  ended  as  the 
mightiest  effort  to  preserve  political  and  national  independence  ever 
displayed  by  so  small  a  nation.  So  closely  are  Jewish  religion  and 
Jewish  nationality  interwoven. 

In  the  early  days  after  the  destruction  of  the  Second  Common- 
wealth by  the  Romans,  the  regaining  of  national  independence  was 
still  thought  of  in  political  terms,  as  witness  the  rebellion  of  Bar 
Kochba.    Though  Rabbi  Akiba  hailed  Bar  Kochba  as  the  Messiah,  his 

25 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

rabbinical  colleagues  and  the  bulk  of  the  Jewish  people  regarded 
him  as  a  political  rebel.  His  failure,  tragic  as  it  was,  did  not  militate 
against  the  Messianic  hope,  because  that  was  a  thing  apart  in  the 
minds  of  the  people. 

We  must  not  forget  how  closely  the  study  of  the  Law  at  this 
period  was  bound  up  with  national  life  and  hope.  Akiba  himself 
died  a  martyr  because  he  persisted  in  studying  Jewish  Law,  in  defiance 
of  the  Roman  prohibition.  That  prohibition  was  of  course  on  national 
grounds.  When,  half  a  century  earlier,  after  the  destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Romans,  Johanan  ben  Zakkai  had  asked  and  obtained 
permission  to  found  the  Academy  at  Jabneh,  he  did  so  to  preserve 
the  Jewish  national  spirit  even  though  the  national  body  was  stricken. 
The  Law  was  to  be  preserved  for  the  certain  future  national  restora- 
tion. This  same  hope  and  faith  underlie  all  the  legalism  of  the 
Diaspora. 

Christianity  arose  at  the  time  when  the  whole  ancient  world  was 
on  edge  with  expectation  for  the  Messiah,  the  savior,  who  would  set 
up  a  new  order  of  things,  and  provide  the  corrupt  pagan  civilization 
with  ideals  worth  living  for.  Though  Christianity  grew  out  of  Jewish 
soil,  both  literally  and  figuratively,  the  Messiahship  of  Jesus  was  at 
first  ignored  and  then  emphatically  rejected  by  the  consensus  of 
Jewish  opinion.  Christianity  has  had  not  the  slightest  influence — 
except  by  negation — upon  the  trend  of  the  Messianic  idea  or  of  Jewish 
thought  generally. 

As  the  darkness  of  the  middle  ages  settled  down  upon  Europe,  the 
Jews  were  subjected  to  breath-taking  cruelties.  The  simplest,  most 
elementary  human  rights  were  withheld  from  them;  and  they  had 
to  exist  as  best  they  could  on  the  tolerance  of  the  devotees  of  the 
religion  of  love.  The  Jews  kept  alive  because  they  came  of  a  race 
endowed  with  such  superb  physical  and  spiritual  vitality  that  it  would 
not  die.  But  neither  could  it  live.  And  so,  while  Europe  lay  in  the 
torpor  of  the  middle  ages,  the  Jews  lived  in  a  state  of  suspended 
animation,  and  dreamed  their  way  through  those  dark  days. 

And  the  Jewish  nation  continued  to  live  in  the  hearts  and  minds 
of  the  Jews.  Even  after  the  center  of  Jewry  had  been  definitely  re- 
moved from  Palestine  to  Babylon,  the  Holy  Land  always  remained 
uppermost  with  the  great  leaders  of  the  people — the  sages  of  the 
Talmud.  We  need  to  read  only  such  an  injunction  as  the  one  calling 
upon  Jews  to  prefer  to  live  in  a  Palestinian  city,  whose  inhabitants 
are  mostly  non-Jews,  rather  than  in  a  city  outside  of  Palestine,  whose 
inhabitants  are  mostly  Jews,  to  understand  their  feelings  on  the  sub- 

26 


THE    NATIONAL    IDEAL    IN    JEWISH    HISTORY 

ject.  And  these  feelings  are  constantly  exhibited,  and  in  a  hundred 
different  ways — in  the  law  that  a  man  could  compel  his  wife  to  ac- 
company him  to  Palestine  under  penalty  of  forfeiting  her  dower  right 
but  could  not  compel  her  to  emigrate  from  Palestine  with  him,  or  in 
the  popular  belief  that  the  resurrection  of  the  Jewish  dead  would  take 
place  in  Palestine. 

As  the  centuries  rolled  by,  this  hope  of  a  return  to  Palestine  never 
died  in  the  breast  of  the  Jew.  As  a  return  in  force,  however,  grew 
more  and  more  unlikely,  the  hope  took  on  a  spiritual,  deeply  religious 
form.  The  order  of  daily  and  holiday  prayers,  which  became  fixed 
during  these  centuries,  is  full  of  references  to  the  return  of  the  divine 
Presence  to  the  Holy  Land. 

Nor  did  days  of  ease  and  plenty  weaken  that  yearning,  that 
national  passion.  The  medieval  Jewish  poets  of  Spain,  in  the  golden 
days  of  Judaism  there,  sang  of  Zion,  their  beloved.  And  Judah 
Ha-Levi  even  translated  his  poems  into  action,  by  leaving  home  and 
ease  and  friends  in  Spain,  to  make  a  pilgrimage  to  his  beloved  Zion,  at 
whose  gates,  legend  tells  us,  he  was  slain. 

The  masses  of  Jews  throughout  the  middle  ages  were  always 
ready  to  exchange  their  state  of  dispersion  for  a  permanent  national 
home  in  Palestine.  In  the  fifteenth  and  sixteenth  centuries,  for  ex- 
ample, large  settlements  of  Jews  flourished  in  the  principal  cities  of 
the  Holy  Land.  These  settlements  included  men  of  international 
Jewish  renown — men  like  Nahmanides  and  Joseph  Kara,  among  many 
others.  Cut f  & 

Messianic  Predictions  and  False  Messiahs 

The  possibilities  of  freedom  by  political  rebellion  or  by  rational 
measures  were  excluded.  Almost  inevitably  the  Jews  fell  back  for 
solace  upon  mystic  fancies.  They  lived  in  a  world  of  the  imagination 
where  the  pressure  of  their  outlawed  state  did  not  reach  their  con- 
sciousness. The  study  of  Kabbalah  absorbed  Jewish  energies  for  a 
large  part  of  the  middle  ages.  The  Kabbalah  concerned  itself  with 
fanciful  investigations  of  the  nature  of  God,  prescribed  the  degrees 
(Sefirot)  through  which  the  human  spirit  must  pass  on  its  path  to 
perfection,  and  speculated  much  on  the  date  of  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah,  by  means  of  the  numeric  value  of  the  letters  of  various 
biblical  texts.  When  a  date  so  fixed  passed  without  fulfillment,  it  was 
simple  by  another  set  of  ingenious  calculations  to  advance  another 
date.  Things  came  to  such  a  pass  that  a  rabbinic  prohibition  was 
passed    against    such    computations,    but    it    did    not    prove    to    be 

27 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

much  of  a  deterrent.  The  fancies  and  legends  that  cluster  about  the 
Messiah  and  the  Messianic  era  are  as  pathetically  naive  as  the  popular 
acceptance  of  self-appointed,  often  self-deluded,  saviors,  the  famous 
pseudo-Messiahs  who  appeared  on  the  scene  all  the  way  from  Moses 
of  Crete,  in  the  fifth  century,  to  Sabbatai  Zebi,  in  the  seventeenth.  It 
would  take  us  too  far  afield  to  discuss  all  these  men,  their  personalities, 
their  motives  and  their  influence  on  the  fate  of  large  communities  of 
Jews.  Among  those  who  stand  out  in  undesirable  pre-eminence  is 
Moses  of  Crete,  whose  Messiahship  resulted  in  the  drowning  of  a* 
large  number  of  people  whom  he  promised  to  lead  dryshod  across  the 
seas  to  Palestine. 

Then  there  was  David  Alroy  of  Bagdad  who  proclaimed  himself 
Messiah  in  the  twelfth  century  and  organized  an  armed  rebellion. 
Only  a  few  facts  are  known  about  him,  and  those  are  swathed  in  a 
mass  of  legends.  However,  it  seems  certain  that  he  paid  his  life  for 
his  rashness.  He  will  be  recalled  as  the  hero  of  one  of  Disraeli's 
novels. 

David  Reubeni  was  a  mysterious  figure  who  emerged  from  West- 
ern Asia  about  1520.  He  represented  himself  as  the  brother  of  a 
Jewish  king  in  Arabia,  who  was  ready  to  drive  the  Turks  out  of 
Palestine  if  the  Christian  governments  would  furnish  him  with  fire- 
arms. He  managed  to  be  received  by  the  Pope  and  to  have  himself 
invited  to  the  court  of  the  Portuguese  king.  Though  he  was  very  non- 
committal with  the  Jews  of  Spain  and  Portugal,  he  was  widely  ac- 
claimed as  the  Messiah  or  the  forerunner  of  the  Messiah.  Reubeni's 
mission  so  worked  upon  the  imagination  of  a  young  neo-Christian, 
Diego  Pires,  who  held  a  high  office  in  the  state,  that  he  voluntarily 
became  a  Jew  and  assumed  the  name  of  Solomon  Molko.  He  had 
delved  deeply  into  the  Kabbalah,  and  preached  the  approach  of  the 
Messianic  era,  the  return  to  Palestine,  and  his  own  Messiahship.  He 
attached  himself  to  Reubeni.  Finally,  they  both  lost  their  lives 
through  their  diplomatic  activities. 

A  most  unfortunate  and  unprecedented  effect  was  left  upon 
Jewish  history  by  another  disciple  of  the  Kabbalah,  Sabbatai  Zebi, 
of  Smyrna,  who  not  only  proclaimed  himself  Messiah,  but  blasphe- 
mously claimed  to  be  God  incarnate.  The  whole  Jewish  world  was 
in  a  ferment,  from  Western  Europe  to  Asia  Minor.  The  soberest  of 
men  went  wild  with  frenzy,  and  wound  up  their  business  affairs  in 
expectation  of  the  return  to  Palestine  and  the  end  of  the  world.  Even 
Christian  circles  were  affected.  Though  the  impostor  turned  Moham- 
medan to  save  his  life,  all  sorts  of  delusions  were  cherished  about  him. 


THE    NATIONAL    IDEAL    IN    JEWISH    HISTORY 

The  pseudo-Messianism  of  Sabbatai  Zebi  did  immeasurable  harm, 
and  an  aftermath  of  self-appointed  successors  sprouted  up  in  Turkey, 
in  Egypt,  in  Poland,  and  in  Germany. 

The  lamentable  careers  of  the  pseudo-Messiahs  by  this  time  con- 
clusively demonstrated  that  while  the  Kabbalah  contained  many  pure 
and  noble  elements  and  stimulated  a  sort  of  saintliness,  it  was  danger- 
ously susceptible  to  misuse.  The  rabbis  henceforth  discouraged  its 
general  study,  and  this  time  effectively.  New  historic  forces,  too, 
began  to  leaven  Europe  in  the  eighteenth  century,  and  the  new  intel- 
lectual tendencies  would  in  any  event  have  relegated  mysticism  to  ob- 
scure byways. 

Zionism  Expresses  Modern  Needs 

With  the  emancipation  of  the  Jews  modern  Zionism  became  in- 
evitable. For  one  thing,  the  legalism  and  the  national  safeguards  of 
Ghetto  segregation  were  destroyed  and  left  Jewish  nationalism  in 
greater  danger  than  at  any  other  time  during  the  dispersion.  For 
another  thing,  the  freedom,  power,  and  material  resources  of  the  Jews 
once  again  opened  up  the  possibility  of  a  rational,  political  restora- 
tion to  their  land. 

References: 

The  Messiah  Idea  in  Jewish  History,  by  J.  Greenstone.   Lecture,  Department  of 
Education:    The  Zionist  Ideal  in  Jewish  History. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Sabbatai  Zebi  and  his  followers.  The  Zionist  poetry  of  the  Spanish  period.  The 
legal  distinctions  in  the  Talmud  between  Palestine  and  the  Diaspora. 


CHAPTER  V 

EMANCIPATION,    HASKALAH,    BEFOEM 

Jewish  Emancipation  Part  of  Eighteenth  Century  Liberalism 

The  beginnings  of  the  civil  emancipation  of  Jewry  in  Western 
Europe  late  in  the  eighteenth  century  were  part  of  the  general  move- 
ment of  national  and  social  forces.  Until  then  the  Jews  had  lived 
everywhere  segregated  in  their  Ghettos,  either  actively  persecuted  or 
passively  shunned,  considered  as  aliens  with  no  civil  rights  and  also 
as  religious  outcasts  with  no  human  rights.  The  Renaissance  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  which  brought  to  birth  the  nationalism  of  Europe 
in  conflict  with  the  imperialism  of  Catholic  Rome,  did  so  on  a  racial 
basis,  and  therefore  only  embittered  the  feeling  against  the  Jews. 
The  Jews  were  not  permitted  to  leave  Medievalism  and  their  Ghettos 
until  after  the  French  Revolution.  The  eighteenth  century's  ideas  of 
freedom  and  of  "the  rights  of  man",  were  a  revolt  against  personal 
privilege  within  the  state,  including  race  privilege.  The  ruling  class 
in  most  nations  belonged  to  a  ruling  race ;  the  race  which  at  one  time 
had  conquered  and  subjected  the  population.  Hence  eighteenth  century 
liberalism  first  raised  the  ideal  which  all  civilized  nations  have  since 
accepted :  That  citizenship  and  not  race  is  the  basis  of  national  unity. 
In  the  effort  to  obliterate  race  distinctions  within  the  democracy,  in 
the  only  form  in  which  they  were  then  known,  that  of  race  privilege, 
national  cultures  and  values  were  not  respected.  The  ideal  of  the 
rights  of  small  nations  had  not  yet  emerged.  Civil  and  individual 
rights  were  granted  on  the  basis  of  the  "equality  of  man"  within  the 
nation.  The  universalism  or  cosmopolitanism  then  preached  was  a 
form  of  self-deception,  and  was  in  fact  a  means  of  solidifying  the  new 
conglomerate  democratic  nations. 

To  be  consistent,  eighteenth-century  liberal  Europe  had  to  eman- 
cipate the  Jews.  The  Jews  had  been  deprived  of  both  their  national 
and  their  personal  rights,  and  when  it  seemed  possible  to  them  to 
obtain  their  personal  rights  under  conditions  which  appealed  to  their 
democratic  nature,  they  either  failed  to  see  or  were  willing  to  accept 
the  danger  to  their  national  existence.  The  opportunity  of  western 
enlightenment,  of  decent  living  and  of  political  freedom  could  not  be 
refused. 

30 


EMANCIPATION,    HASKALAH,    REFORM 

Moses  Mendelssohn  and  German  Jewish  Assimilation 

The  Jewish  people,  emerging  from  the  twilight  of  Ghetto  medi- 
evalism into  the  glare  of  European  nationalism,  was  dazzled  and 
bewildered.  But,  as  usual,  the  Jews — who  are  said  to  be  the 
most  adaptable  people  in  the  world — made  a  brave  attempt  at 
adjustment.  Forerunner  of  the  Reform  movement  in  Germany  and 
also  indirectly  of  the  Haskalah  movement  in  Russia,  was  Moses 
Mendelssohn.  A  great  personality  in  German  as  well  as  in  Jewish 
life,  scholar,  philosopher,  and  educator,  he  stands  at  the  head  of  Jewish 
liberalism.  But  as  with  many  another  teacher,  the  course  of  events 
that  resulted  from  his  influence  was  the  opposite  of  what  he  would 
have  desired.  Born  in  Dessau,  in  northern  Germany,  in  1729,  he  came 
to  Berlin  as  a  young  Talmudic  scholar,  and  soon  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  both  Jews  and  Christians  by  his  gifts  of  mind  and  character. 
He  became  a  leader  with  a  definite  goal :  To  win  the  political  emanci- 
pation of  the  German  Jews  through  their  intellectual  emancipation. 
If  the  Jew  would  be  free  to  leave  his  Ghetto,  he  must  learn  to  live 
like  his  German  neighbor.  For  the  sake  of  teaching  not  the  Bible  but 
German  to  the  Yiddish-speaking  Jews,  Mendelssohn  translated  the 
Bible  into  classic  German.  He  advocated  the  secular  German  school 
for  Jewish  children.  But  he  also  fathered  a  new  Hebrew  development 
and  advocated,  and  always  practised,  the  life  and  ritual  of  traditional 
Judaism.  The  effect  of  his  teaching,  however,  was  to  make  German- 
ization  and  de-Judaization  the  chief  object  of  the  German  Jew.  His 
own  children  were  converted  to  Christianity  and  married  Christians. 
Mendelssohn  died  in  Berlin,  in  1786. 

With  Mendelssohn  as  their  leader,  there  had  grown  up  a  school  of 
propagandists  of  European  culture  through  the  medium  of  the  Hebrew 
language — for  this  purpose  they  published  a  Hebrew  journal  called 
ha-Meassef — but  neither  the  development  of  German  nor  of  Hebrew 
as  a  means  of  adjusting  the  Jew  to  emancipation  had  the  expected 
result.  Germanization  led  to  apostasy;  Hebraization  led  in  the  end 
through  its  development  in  Russia,  to  Jewish  nationalism  and  Zionism. 
In  Germany  itself  Hebrew  was  discarded  as  a  literary  medium  as  soon 
as  possible,  and  the  later  "Jewish  Science"  of  the  German  Jewish 
scholars  was  written  not  in  Hebrew,  but  in  German. 

Elijah  of  Vilna 

In  Russia,  where  the  Hebrew  revival  as  a  means  to  modern  cul- 
ture was  to  have  marvelous  and  unforeseen  effects,  the  forerunner  of 
"enlightenment"  was  Elijah  of  Vilna,  the   Gaon,   (1720-1779),  a  true 

31 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Jewish  sage  whose  gentleness  and  sanity  and  learning  went  far  to- 
wards saving  Russian  Jewry  from  the  perversions  of  a  false  concep- 
tion of  assimilation.  He  reintroduced  not  only  the  study  of  modern 
science,  philosophy  and  mathematics,  but  he  purified  the  study  of  the 
Talmud,  insisting  on  accurate  knowledge  of  Hebrew  grammar  and 
the  Bible,  and  a  vital,  rational  way  of  approaching  Jewish  learning. 
Through  his  inspiration  was  founded  the  greatest  of  modern  Talmud- 
ical  colleges,  the  Tree  of  Life  Academy  at  Wolosin.  And  his  in- 
fluence, founded  on  no  assumed  authority  but  solely  on  the  power 
of  his  wisdom  and  character,  no  doubt  shaped  the  course  of  events,  if 
only  by  keeping  intact  for  a  later  time  the  spirit  of  Hebraism. 

The  Haskalah  Movement  in  Russia 

The  Haskalah  movement  means  literally  "enlightenment".  In 
Russia  was  concentrated  the  best  educated  and  most  vital  part  of  the 
Jewish  people.  The  reign  of  Alexander  II  seemed  to  offer  the  Jews 
an  outlet  from  the  Ghetto  into  Russian  and  European  life  and  culture. 
If  the  Russian  Jew  were  to  take  his  place  among  Russians,  he  must 
acquire  that  secular  education  which  is  the  common  heritage  of  man- 
kind. Hitherto  his  whole  education  had  been  traditionally  Jewish, 
based  on  the  Bible  and  more  especially  on  the  Talmud. 

The  Gaon  had  done  much  to  keep  that  secularization  thoroughly 
Jewish.  The  Russian  Jews  used  their  own  classic  Hebrew  as  the 
vehicle,  by  means  of  translations,  for  all  modern  knowledge.  Stimu- 
lated at  first  by  the  MeasseUm  imported  from  Germany,  there  grew  up 
a  virile  secular  literature  in  Hebrew.  (See  Chapter  XVI.)  However 
some  of  the  Maskilim — preachers  of  Haskalah — may  have  repudiated 
Jewish  religious  and  national  segregation,  they  nevertheless  strength- 
ened one  of  the  firmest  of  all  national  bonds,  the  national  language. 
The  movement  was  a  break  from  traditional  Judaism  rather  than  from 
Jewish  nationalism.  The  obscurantist  religion  of  the  Hassidim,  (a 
mystic  ecstatic  sect  founded  by  Baal  Shem  Tov  as  a  protest  against 
formalism  and  emotional  decay,  but  that  degenerated  into  supersti- 
tion), hastened  that  break  by  fermenting  the  religious  atmosphere 
and  discrediting  both  Talmudism  and  itself.  Many  were  the  brilliant 
Jewish  personalities  of  this  period  in  Russia,  among  them  Leon 
Gordon,  Perez  Smolenskin,  and  M.  L.  Lilienblum,  which  would  well 
repay  detailed  study.     (See  Ch.  XVI.) 

Reaction  to  Jewish  Nationalism 

The  reaction  after  the  death  of  Alexander  II  and  the  Russian 
persecutions   of  the   eighties,   forced   the  Jews   to   realize   that  the 


EMANCIPATION,    HASKALAH,    REFORM 

attempt  at  assimilation  would  never  bring  them  true  freedom.  Then 
the  Maskilitn,  with  their  strong  Hebraic  background,  quickly  reacted 
to  national  emotion,  and  in  many  cases  became  Zionist  leaders.  Leo 
Pinsker  was  one  of  these.  His  father,  a  Maskil,  was  master  of  a 
secular  Hebrew  school.  Jewish  nationalism,  stripped  of  its  ancient 
protection,  traditional  Judaism,  cried  out  for  a  new  means  of  preserva- 
tion, and  so  made  itself  felt  with  new  force. 

The  French  Revolution 

In  France  the  Revolution,  with  its  slogan  of  "liberty,  equality, 
fraternity,"  automatically  brought  civil  emancipation  to  the  Jews,  an 
emancipation  in  political  life  which  had  to  be  struggled  for  bit  by  bit 
in  every  other  country  except  only  the  United  States  of  America,  which 
had  now  also  emerged  into  full  political  freedom.  But  even  France 
fell  short  of  American  ideals  of  racial  freedom.  The  Jewish  question 
as  a  national  question  was  not  solved  by  individual  civil  emancipa- 
tion. Both  in  France,  under  the  imperial  reaction  of  Napoleon  and  in 
Germany,  the  Jews  felt  themselves  faced  with  this  choice:  Jewish 
nationality  or  a  European  nationality.  Napoleon  called  a  Sanhedrin  of 
Rabbis  in  Paris,  in  1807,  to  clarify  the  Jewish  position.  The  Rabbis 
practically  bartered  Jewish  national  existence  for  French  citizenship. 
They  defined  Judaism  as  merely  a  religious  persuasion. 

The  Reform  Movement  in  Germany 

The  Reform  movement  in  Germany,  which  took  rise  in  the  genera- 
tion following  Mendelssohn,  stood  midway  between  those  whose  en- 
lightenment ended  in  conversion  and  those  who  adhered  rigidly  to 
traditional  Judaism.  The  impulse  behind  it  was  a  praiseworthy  and 
thoroughly  Jewish  one,  the  desire  to  adjust  Jewish  life  to  changed 
conditions.  It  claimed,  in  fact,  to  be  the  savior  of  Judaism,  a  compro- 
mise that  alone  could  save  Judaism  from  utter  destruction.  It  accen- 
tuated Jewish  religion  purely  as  a  belief — religion  in  the  western, 
Christian  sense.  The  avowed  purpose  was  to  make  Germans  of  the 
emancipated  Jews  by  denying  Jewish  nationality.  The  German  Jews 
were  called  "Germans  of  the  Mosaic  persuasion."  Relief  was  to  be 
the  only  bond  between  Jews,  and  Judaism  was  to  be  saved  without 
the  Jewish  people.  This  sacrifice  of  a  patriotism  preserved  through 
2,000  years  of  heroic  struggle  was  made  ostensibly  out  of  gratitude 
for  bare  justice  received,  really  out  of  fear  of  renewed  injustice. 
Therefore  Jewish  worship  was  gradually  stripped  of  all  national  ele- 
ments, of  the  Hebrew  language,  of  the  prayers  for  the  restoration  of 

33 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Zion,  and  of  those  ritual  laws  which  may  be  called  sublimated  national 
customs.  Reform  Judaism  arose  in  an  individualistic  age;  it  too  was 
individualistic.  The  Jew  accepted  his  personal  civic  liberty  at  the 
price  of  the  spiritual  freedom  of  the  Jewish  people.  Reform  Judaism 
offered  him  a  philosophy,  a  system  of  truth  and  ethics,  quite  harmless, 
which  he  could  accept  without  injuring  his  social  and  civic  life.  It 
evolved  the  ideal  of  a  Jewish  mission  in  dispersion,  of  teaching  the 
unity  of  God  to  the  nations.  But  unfortunately  the  missionaries  were 
out  of  date.  That  part  of  Judaism  which  they  were  to  teach,  ethical 
monotheism,  is  already  common  human  property,  no  longer  distinc- 
tively Jewish.  Hence,  it  could  not  hold  even  Jews  together,  much  less 
influence  progressive  humanity.  What  is  more,  Reform  Judaism 
imitated  in  its  method  Protestant  Christianity,  a  religion  which  is 
also  losing  its  vitality.  In  an  age  of  religious  upheaval,  it  could  only 
imitate,  not  create  and  lead,  as  Judaism  has  always  done.  It  became 
a  respectable  and  pleasant  path  toward  assimilation. 

But  other  forces,  among  them  the  negative  force  of  anti-Semitism 
and  the  positive  force  of  Zionism,  blocked  the  way  of  Reform  Judaism 
toward  its  goal  of  painless  death.  In  our  day  many  Reform  Jews, 
among  them  Reform  Rabbis,  have  come  into  the  Zionist  movement, 
because  they  realize  that  reforming  the  ritual  of  Judaism  in  no  way 
affects  its  national  significance,  and  that  Jewish  religion  in  any  form 
today  depends  for  its  vitality  on  the  renationalization  of  the  Jewish 
people.  Zionism  alone  can  solve  not  only  the  national  but  also  the 
religious  problem  of  the  Jews,  and  perhaps  of  the  whole  world.  Every- 
where we  see  a  new  national  life  springing  up  beside  religions  that 
belong  to  a  dead  past,  and  everywhere  the  nations  are  groping  for 
faith.  May  not  the  Jewish  nation,  which  alone  sees  in  religion  the  ex- 
pression of  social,  of  community  living  and  of  national  and  political 
justice,  hold  once  more  the  religious  salvation  of  mankind  in  its 
hands? 

References: 

The  Reform  Movement  in  Judaism,  by  D.  Philipson.  The  Easkalah  Movement, 
by  J.  S.  Eaisin.  Studies  in  Judaism,  by  S.  Schechter;  First  Series,  Ch.  Ill,  "Rabbi 
Elijah  Wilna,  Gaon."  Leon  Gordon,  by  A.  B.  Rhine.  Jewish  Emancipation:  The 
Contract  Myth,  by  H.  Sacher. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

A  brief  history  of  Reform  Judaism.    A  brief  history  of  the  Maskalah  Movement. 


34 


CHAPTER  VI 

ANTI-SEMITISM     AND     JEWISH     NATIONALISM 

"And  Haman  said  unto  King  Ahasuerus:  There  is  a  certain 
people  scattered  abroad  and  dispersed  among  the  peoples  in  all  the 
provinces  of  thy  kingdom;  and  their  laws  are  diverse  from  those  of 
every  people,  neither  keep  they  the  king's  laws;  therefore  it  profiteth 
not  the  king  to  suffer  them." 

National  Persistence  after  Defeat  Is  Cause  of  Anti-Semitism 

These  lines  from  the  Book  of  Esther  give  the  underlying  cause  and 
motive  of  all  anti-Semitism.  Primarily,  anti-Semitism  is  the  fault  of  the 
Jews,  for  remaining  Jewish.  Had  the  Jews  disappeared,  naturally  Jew- 
hatred  would  have  disappeared  with  them.  Our  crime  is  to  have  re- 
mained alive  as  a  distinct  people,  to  have  defied  the  loss  and  destruction 
of  our  land,  and  to  have  maintained  our  spirit  and  will.  Nor  can  we  escape 
that  hatred  by  clipping  off  this  or  that  element  of  our  Jewishness — 
our  religion,  our  patriotism,  our  legalism — for  the  name  Jew  desig- 
nates that  ancient  people  which  was  conquered  and  dispersed  from 
its  land  2,000  years  ago,  and  whose  crime  is  to  refuse  to  die.  Only 
complete  disappearance  can  satisfy  our  foes.  Or  a  change  of  front  on 
the  part  of  humanity,  a  new  conception  of  the  rights  of  nationality, 
may  eliminate  our  foe.  That  new  conception  of  national  rights,  in  also 
granting  us  our  land,  would  justify  and  satisfy  the  national  aspiration 
of  2,000  years. 

Jew  Hatred  in  Old  Times 

We  must  distinguish  between  anti-Semitism  in  modern  Western 
Europe  and  the  Jew-hatred  of  earlier  times.  Anti-Semitism  is  an 
intellectualized  form  of  the  older  instinctive  antagonism.  In  old  times 
the  primitive  feeling  against  the  stranger  or  alien,  who  had  no  land 
of  his  own  and  yet  held  aloof  from  assimilation,  took  various  forms 
of  prejudice  and  superstition.  From  the  first  dispersion  of  the  Jews  in 
Greece  and  Rome,  even  before  the  Christian  Era,  we  find  this  antago- 
nism, sometimes  taking  literary  forms.  The  Jews  are  accused  of  wor- 
shipping a  pig  or  an  ass's  head,  of  being  descended  from  a  race  of 
lepers  who  were  driven  out  of  Egypt,  etc.,  etc.     In  Christian  times 

35 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

the  hatred  took  a  religious  form,  though  not  without  political  implica- 
tions. The  sharpest  break  between  Jews  and  Christians  in  early  times 
probably  came  from  the  Jews,  through  their  bitter  resentment  against 
the  early  Christianizing  Jews  who  refused  to  take  part  in  the  Jewish 
national  struggle  against  Rome,  and  who  even  acted  as  informers  to 
the  Romans.  Throughout  the  middle  ages,  and  even  to  our  own  time, 
religious  Jew-hatred  was  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  Jews  had 
killed  Christ,  that  they  were  originally  the  chosen  people,  but  by  their 
denial  of  the  divinity  of  Christ  had  forfeited  that  heritage,  whicn 
became  the  spiritual  heritage  of  all  Christians.  The  Jews  are  rejected 
of  God;  the  Christians  become  his  chosen  people.  Thus  the  nations 
deprived  Israel  not  only  of  his  land,  but  tried  to  rob  him  also  of  his 
spiritual  patrimony.  So  long  as  Christianity  lasts  in  its  traditional 
forms  this  hatred  must  have  to  the  Christian  mind  a  logical  justifica- 
tion. However,  this  religious  aversion  was  often  used  merely  as  a 
cloak  for  economic  antagonism.  The  Jew,  looked  upon  as  a  foreigner, 
could  not  accumulate  wealth  without  arousing  envy.  His  peculiar 
situation  as  a  countryless  sojourner  who  could  not  own  land,  drove 
him  naturally  into  commercial  occupations ;  and  gradually  restrictions 
in  most  countries  forced  him  exclusively  into  brokerage  and^  into 
usury.  He  became  practically  the  property  of  the  nobility  and  king's, 
and  so  was  used  by  them  in  many  cases  as  an  instrument  to  fleece 
the  common  people.  Then  the  nobility,  to  protect  themselves,  often 
found  it  expedient  to  turn  popular  hatred  against  their  vassal  Jews. 
The  forms  of  persecution  practised  were  generally  forced  segregation 
in  Ghettos,  forced  conversion  at  the  point  of  the  sword,  expulsion 
from  cities  or  whole  countries,  riot  and  murder — sometimes  wholesale 
murder — and  all  of  these  offered  opportunities  for  plunder.  During 
the  middle  ages,  the  forms  of  persecution  were  especially  violent  and 
horrible,  as  in  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  but  the  periods  between 
allowed  of  much  freedom  and  development.  The  bitterest  degrada- 
tion of  the  Jew  -came  after  the  Reformation  in  the  seventeenth  and 
eighteenth  centuries,  when  the  general  hatred  and  oppression  of 
the  Jews  was  most  systematic  and  constant.  It  may  be  called  the 
darkest  period  in  the  history  of  the  Jewish  dispersion.  Gleams  of  light 
there  were,  also,  and  the  first  dawning  of  a  new  day,  especially  in 
England  and  Holland.  But  altogether  the  effect  on  the  Jews  was 
terrible.  An  intensification  and  narrowing  of  national  life  took  place 
that  shut  the  Jew  into  Medievalism  when  all  the  world  was  striding 
forward.  Jewish  obscurantism  in  the  Ghettos  turned  against  all 
modern  culture,  and  fed  the  suffering  national  spirit  only  on  Talmudic 

36 


ANTI-SEMITISM    AND    JEWISH    NATIONALISM 

lore  and  on  the  hard  nuts  of  a  legalism  which  could  not  function  in 
life.  Also,  the  long  and  bitter  oppression,  the  social  ostracism  and 
the  terrible  economic  suffering  which  forced  upon  them  low  standards 
of  living,  often  gave  the  Jews  those  repelling  social  habits,  obsequious- 
ness and  lack  of  decorum,  which  became  an  excuse  for  social  prejudice. 

Modern  Anti-Semitism — Social  and  Political 

That  social  prejudice  came  into  full  swing  after  legal  emancipa- 
tion in  the  nineteenth  century.  When  the  Jew  came  forth  from  his 
Ghetto  with  his  sharpened  wits,  he  rose  at  once  to  the  top  level  in  every 
profession  and  walk  of  life,  and  yet  of  course  retained  his  personality. 
Quickly  enough,  in  less  than  a  generation,  does  he  throw  off  the  Ghetto 
habits;  but  he  still  pours  forth  from  the  Ghetto;  and  not  only  Gentiles, 
but  even  Jews,  foolishly  describe  as  the  effect  of  his  superficial  man- 
ners a  prejudice  that  is  rooted  in  quite  other  ground. 

In  speaking  of  modern  anti-Semitism,  Russia  and  Rumania  are 
left  out  of  account,  as  there  the  conditions  are  still  those  of  an  earlier 
period,  and  Jew-hatred  runs  the  old  cruel  course  with  certain  quite 
modern  aggravations;  for  example,  the  exclusion  in  Russia,  until 
the  Revolution,  of  Jews  from  schools  and  colleges,  and  the  laws  of 
segregation  in  the  Pale  which  outdid  perhaps  all  previous  Ghetto 
restrictions.  In  Rumania,  Jews  are  considered  and  treated  as  aliens 
with  no  civic  rights  but  that  of  compulsory  military  service.  In 
Poland,  the  popular  economic  persecution  has  had  a  distinctly  na- 
tionalist coloring.  To  say  nothing  of  the  savage  cruelty  against  the 
Jews  practised  in  all  these  lands  during  the  war. 

Modern  political  anti-Semitism  was  born  in  Germany  after  the 
Franco-Prussian  War,  that  is,  after  1870.  It  was  a  natural  result  of 
the  new  German  national  spirit.  Its  occasion  was  the  breaking  of 
the  bubble  of  over-speculation  that  resulted  from  the  huge  French 
indemnity.  In  that  burst  bubble  a  number  of  Jews — as  well  as  non- 
Jews — were  implicated.  However,  the  Jews  were  the  scapegoats. 
Two  Jews,  Edward  Lasker  and  Ludwig  Bamberger,  had  played  a 
leading  part  in  creating,  in  1866,  the  National  Liberal  Party,  which 
included  the  great  majority  of  German  Jews,  and  which  had  helped 
Bismarck  to  weld  the  German  States  into  an  empire.  Naturally,  the 
anti-Semitic  agitation  took  political  form,  especially  when  Bismarck 
no  longer  needed  the  Liberal  Party,  but  was  glad  to  use  anti-Semitism 
as  an  instrument  for  its  overthrow.  An  anti-Semitic  political  party 
arose,  which  later  had  its  counterpart  in  Austria,  but  Bismarck  gave 
the  party  no  further  support  after  it  had  served  his  purposes,  and  to- 

37 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

day  it  is  practically  out  of  existence.  However,  anti-Semitism  as  an 
intellectual  force,  with  dire  physical  and  social  consequences,  con- 
tinued to  develop.  It  has  been  the  stronghold  of  conservatism,  in 
France  and  in  Germany ;  in  the  former  its  hotbed  was  the  army,  which 
brought  forth  the  Dreyfus  case,  and  raised  a  storm  of  popular  anti- 
Jewishness  which  was  a  staggering  blow  to  those  who  had  put  their 
faith  in  French  liberalism.  However,  the  French  Government  vindi- 
cated itself  by  its  just  verdict.  In  Germany  and  German  Austria,  anti- 
Semitism  has  been  chiefly  official  and  literary.  Government  positions 
and  commissions  in  the  army,  as  well  as  university  honors,  have  been 
withheld  from  Jews.  All  professional  advancement  has  at  times  been 
barred.  The  highest  point  of  repression  was  reached  in  1882;  then  the 
pogroms  in  Russia  shocked  the  Germans  into  their  senses. 

Literary  anti-Semitism  is  based  on  various  philosophic  theses 
that  merge  into  each  other.  First,  the  Christian  or  Christian  Socialist : 
This  sees  in  Judaism  a  disintegrating  force  that  must  naturally 
undermine  Christianity  and  Christian  national  life,  and  that  is  re- 
sponsible, since  Jewish  emancipation,  for  the  decay  of  Christianity 
and  the  consequent  upheavals  in  European  Christian  nationalism. 
Curiously  enough,  this  conservative  view  was  linked  with  a  form  of 
Socialism,  which  saw  in  the  Jews  the  typical  bourgeoisie  and  capital- 
ists. Second,  the  economic:  This  is  very  complicated,  since  its  incep- 
tion was  with  the  landlord  class,  the  Junkers,  who  fought,  in  the  Jew, 
the  bourgeoisie.  Later  the  Christian  bourgeoisie  turned  against  the 
Jew  as  the  Socialist.  Always  it  was  the  Jew  who  was  held  responsible 
— really  too  great  a  compliment.  It  is  true  that  the  Jew  is  often  a 
revolutionist.  Since  he  believes  justice  can  and  must  be  attained  on 
this  earth,  he  must  fight  for  it ;  since  he  holds  all  men  equally  children 
of  God,  he  insists  on  democracy;  and  his  sense  of  personal  dignity 
gives  him  a  love  of  freedom.  Also,  he  belongs  to  an  oppressed 
minority.  But,  with  all  his  share  in  the  leadership  of  social  revolution, 
he  is  not  responsible  for  the  spiritual  awakening  of  Europe.  Third, 
the  ethnological:  Scientific  claims — which  have  been  since  discredited 
by  science — try  to  prove  the  inferiority  of  the  Semitic  race  to  the  rul- 
ing Aryan  race,  the  danger  to  Europe  of  an  infusion  of  Jewish  blood 
and  Jewish  ideals,  and  go  so  far  as  to  try  to  prove  that  Jesus  was  an 
Aryan.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  neither  of  these  "races"  can  be  proved 
to  exist.  Fourth,  the  anti-Christian,  typified  by  Nietzsche.  This 
attacks  not  only  Judaism  as  the  religion  of  the  weak  and  cowardly,  but 
also  Christianity  as  a  product  of  Judaism,  and  sees  the  superman  in 
him  who  lives  by  his  power  to  overcome  and  rule  others. 

38 


ANTI-SEMITISM    AND    JEWISH    NATIONALISM 

Racial  Basis  of  Anti-Semitism 

Anti-Semitism,  arising  in  Western  Europe,  after  emancipation 
had  actually  succeeded  in  denationalizing  a  large  section  of  the  Jews, 
stood  on  a  racial  foundation,  as  was  indicated  by  its  name,  and  so 
made  it  clear  that  only  the  complete  elimination  of  the  Jews  as  a 
people  could  eliminate  Jew-hatred.  The  answer  to  such  a  challenge 
could  be  only  either  surrender  or  defiance — assimilation  or  Zionism.  Ac- 
cordingly it  was  said  by  the  foes  of  Zionism — by  the  capitulators — 
that  Zionism  was  merely  a  negative  movement,  a  council  of  despair, 
springing  from  anti-Semitism.  The  falsity  of  this  view  need  hardly 
be  pointed  out.  Zionism  arose  in  its  might  because  Jewish  nationality 
was  threatened.  ^Xt  was  the  active  militant  heir  of  the  passive  nation- 
alism of  the  Ghetto.  It  is  true  that  to  men  like  Leo  Pinsker  and 
Theodor  Herzl  an  anti-Semitic  outbreak  was  the  direct  occasion  of 
their  Zionist  activity.  However,  that  merely  means  that  they  sud- 
denly realized  wherein  lies  the  only  Jewish  salvation.  Men  of  another 
temperament  would  perhaps  have  been  converted  instead. 

Zionist  Attitude  Toward  Anti-Semitism 

To  the  Zionist  anti-Semitism  loses  its  paramount  importance. 
^.Social  anti-Semitism  he  can  ignore,  because  his  realization  of  positive 
Jewish  values  makes  him  less  the  dupe  of  social  whims.  And  even 
in  the  more  violent  forms  of  anti-Semitism  he  sees  a  passing  phase 
that  must  disappear  when  the  Jew  is  renationalized  and  again  becomes 
normal,  when  segregation  and  separatism  and  alienism  lose  their 
purpose  in  the  dispersion,  because  the  Jew  is  secure  in  his  own  home- 
land. The  Zionist  demands  justice  to  the  Jew  everywhere,  which  in- 
cludes the  national  justice  due  to  the  claim  on  his  land.  The  burning 
question  is  no  longer  anti-Semitism.  The  burning  question  is  Jewish 
rehabilitation.  So  the  Zionist  feels  himself  free  to  ignore  prejudices 
and  false  deductions;  as  a  citizen  from  choice  in  every  country,  he 
feels  himself  justified  in  working  for  the  repatriation  of  the  nucleus 
of  the  Jewish  people  which  desires  to  return  to  its  homeland.  By 
dropping  apologetics  and  assuming  this  positive  position,  he  has  won 
the  respect  of  the  non-Jewish  world,  which  now  sees  in  the  Jewish 
question,  and  partly  through  the  Jewish  question,  the  claim  for  justice 
to  all  the  small  and  disinherited  peoples. 

References: 

Anti-Semitism,  by  B.  Lazare.     Zionism  and  the  Jewish  Future,  edited  by  K 
Sacher;  Chapter  on  "Anti-Semitism."    Anti-Semitism-  in  Germany,  by  Israel  Cohen. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  status  of  the  Jew  in  America.     German  political  anti-Semitism. 

39 


CHAPTER  VII 

FORERUNNERS    OF    ZIONISM* 

Two  ideas  are  implied  in  the  term  "Forerunners  of  Zionism".  For 
one  thing,  the  word  "forerunners"  gives  notice  that  we  are  speaking  of 
Zionism  in  the  political  sense,  and  that  we  refer  to  the  movement  founded 
by  Herzl  in  1897.  That  this  modern  Zionist  movement  is  no  abrupt  inno- 
vation, but  is  part  and  parcel  of  an  ancient  and  dominant  Jewish 
motive,  is  our  second  implication. 

Our  primary  purpose  is  to  describe  the  men  and  the  activities  that 
preceded  Herzl  and  political  Zionism  during  the  latter  half  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  The  names  of  Moses  Hess,  Hirsch  Kalischer, 
Perez  Smolenskin,  Leo  Pinsker,  and  Ahad  Ha-Am  loom  large  in  the 
annals  of  Jewish  nationalism  of  modern  times.  Each  of  these  men  was 
a  distinct  type,  varying  as  widely  as  only  Jews  can  vary,  and  yet 
they  were  closely  akin,  identical  almost,  in  their  conclusion  that  for 
the  Jew  all  roads  lead  to  Zion. 

These  protagonists  of  Jewish  nationalism  had  contemporary  in- 
centives not  only  in  Jewish  misery,  but  also  in  the  nationalist  strivings 
of  their  times.  When  Greece  and  Italy — to  mention  notable  examples 
— secured  their  national  independence,  the  sympathies  of  all  of  cul- 
tured Europe  were  with  them.  Byron  and  the  Brownings  at  once 
come  to  mind  when  the  Greek  and  Italian  struggles  for  independence 
are  recalled.  And  it  is  frustrated,  but  rightful,  national  aspirations, 
that  kept  Europe  in  turmoil  throughout  the  nineteenth  century. 

In  German  Jewry,  the  denationalizing  motive  of  the  Reform  move- 
ment was  very  strongly  opposed  by  the  Orthodox  party.  But  even 
though  Orthodoxy  whole-heartedly  held  to  the  principle  of  Jewish 
nationality  (which  had  never  before  been  questioned),  it  stood,  after 
all,  for  a  status  quo  policy.  It  prayed  for  and  'devoutly  believed  in  the 
restoration,  but  by  way  of  a  Heaven-sent  Messiah  who  would  appear 
miraculously.  Practical  measures  were  thought  to  be  an  impious 
forcing  of  the  hand  of  Providence. 

Moses  Hess 

We  nevertheless  find  in  the  60's  of  the  nineteenth  century  men 
strongly  opposed  to  the  Reformers,  and  yet  willing  to  do  practical 

*  By  Lotta  Levensohn. 

40 


FORERUNNERS    OF     ZIONISM 

work  to  redeem  their  people.  Foremost  among  the  "Forerunners  of 
Zionism", — Herzl's  predecessors  in  Germany — stand  Moses  Hess 
(1812-1875),  and  Rabbi  Hirsch  Kalischer  (1795-1874).  Their  intel- 
lectual outlook  and  their  method  of  approaching  the  problem  of  the 
Eternal  Jew  were  poles  apart,  but  their  conclusions  were  the  same. 
The  Communist-Socialist  Hess's  admiration  for  the  Orthodox  Rabbi  is 
shown  by  his  quoting  entire  Kalischer's  draft  of  a  plan  for  colonizing 
Palestine,  in  his  own  work  on  Jewish  nationalism,  Rom  und  Jerusalem. 
Early  in  his  career,  Hess  was  a  Communist.  He  was  a  contemporary  of 
Karl  Marx,  the  converted  Jew,  and  became  a  tower  of  strength  to  Social- 
ism. But,  unlike  Marx,  Hess  realized  that  the  cosmopolitanism  of  his 
day,  which  ignored  the  historic  evolution  of  races  and  nationalities,  could 
not  be  the  last  word.  Hess,  a  humanitarian  of  the  warmest  and  widest 
sympathies,  outlined,  half  a  century  ago,  in  Rom  und  Jerusalem,  ideas 
that  are  only  now  becoming  common  property,  as  they  have  been  forged 
on  the  anvil  of  the  terrible  World  War;  the  self-determination  of  the 
small  peoples  without  let  or  hindrance  by  the  great  powers — master- 
nations,  he  called  them;  the  indisputable  and  equal  rights  of  small  na- 
tions; the  fact  that  every  cultural-historical  group  has  something  of  its 
own  to  contribute  to  civilization;  and  that  relations  between  nation  and 
nation  ought  to  be  based  not  on  armaments  but  on  justice — the  League 
of  Nations,  as  our  new  phrase  has  it.  Only  through  a  family  of  nations, 
based  on  social  and  economic  justice  within  the  respective  states,  could 
the  millenium  come.  That  humanity  and  human  institutions  must,  in  the 
nature  of  things,  be  on  the  road  to  perfection,  he  never  dreamed  of 
doubting.  It  logically  followed,  from  his  premises,  that  the  Jewish 
people  must  again  be  constituted  to  take  its  place  among  the  nations, 
not  only  because  of  the  justice  of  its  claim  to  freedom,  but  also  because 
its  genius  was  represented  in  one  of  the  two  great  cultures  that  had 
influenced  civilization  for  2,000  years — Hebraism  and  Hellenism.  The 
Jewish  people  still  had  much  to  contribute,  but  could  do  so  only  on 
the  basis  of  a  normal  national  life;  that  is,  political  independence  in 
a  land  of  its  own.  This  was  so  important,  he  said,  that  if  emancipation 
— necessary  as  it  was — could  be  had  only  on  the  surrender  of  Jewish 
nationalism,  he  would  forego  emancipation.  He  was  a  political  Zionist, 
too,  because  he  strongly  urged  that  colonization  in  Palestine  be  placed 
under  some  form  of  international  guarantee,  preferably  with  a  French 
protectorate. 

Rabbi  Hirsch  Kalischer 

Rabbi  Hirsch   Kalischer,  of  Thorn,   Prussia,  a  learned  Talmudist, 
through  word  and  deed  fostered  agricultural  settlement  in  Palestine  by 

41 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

East  European  Jews.  His  premise  was  religious,  as  Hess's  was  eco- 
nomic and  nationalistic.  In  his  D'rishat  Zion,  published  in  the  same 
year  as  Rom  und  Jerusalem  (1862),  he  laid  down  the  principle  that 
the  ancestral  land  must  be  reclaimed  by  natural,  practical  measures. 
The  Messiah  would  surely  appear,  but  after,  and  not  before,  the  Jewish 
people  had  done  all  that  was  humanly  possible.  As  he  saw  it,  God 
helps  him  who  helps  himself.  Kalischer's  agitation  inspired  the  found- 
ing of  the  Mikveh  Israel  Agricultural  School  near  Jaffa  by  Charles 
Netter  of  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle  in  1871,  and  also  gave  rise 
to  two  or  three  unsuccessful  attempts  at  founding  Jewish  settlements. 
Nevertheless,  he  achieved  something  of  two-fold  value.  He  gained 
sympathy  for  Palestinian  colonization  in  rigidly  Orthodox  circles, 
and  he  inspired  the  first  organized  attempt  in  2,000  years  to  reclaim 
Palestinian  soil  by  Jewish  labor. 

Perez  Smolenskin,  Maskil 

In  Russia,  the  occasional  gleams  of  freedom  in  the  nineteenth 
century  gave  way  in  the  early  80's  to  pogroms  and  further  restrictions 
of  the  Pale  of  Settlement.  When  the  humanitarian  phrases  of  the 
time  turned  to  Dead  Sea  fruit  in  the  mouths  of  cosmopolitan  Jews,  it 
was  natural  that  they  should  seek  comfort  in  the  warmth  of  their  own 
fold.  However,  it  is  not  just  to  ascribe  the  rising  wave  of  Jewish 
nationalist  sentiment  in  Russia,  at  that  time,  merely  to  the  reflex  action 
of  anti-Semitism.  We  must  remember  the  intense  Jewish  self-con- 
sciousness of  the  masses  fostered  by  centuries  of  seclusion  in  Ghettos, 
their  absorption  in  the  study  of  the  Torah,  their  persistent,  unalterable 
belief  that  in  God's  good  time — when  Israel  should  have  atoned  for 
its  early  sins — they  would  be  restored  to  Erez  Israel.  The  Messianic 
idea  had  gathered  only  strength  with  the  passing  ages,  and  in  a  time  of 
technical  and  political  progress,  the  old  hope  clothed  itself  in  new 
garments. 

As  the  culture  of  the  nineteenth  century  penetrated  to  the  dark 
Russian  Ghettos,  it  was  avidly  welcomed  by  the  younger  generation — 
through  the  medium  of  biblical  Hebrew !  Hebrew  was  the  medium  of 
transmission  for  poetry,  literature,  philosophy,  science,  modern  language, 
for  everything,  in  fact!  (See  Ch.  V  and  XVI.)  The  movement  for 
enlightenment,  the  Haskalah,  was  spread  with  characteristic  Jewish 
zeal  and  energy.  However,  for  nearly  a  generation  the  tendency  was 
to  set  up  new  idols  in  place  of  the  old  Jewish  God.  The  older  genera- 
tion, most  of  whom  had  bitterly  opposed  admitting  the  knowledge 
of  the  Gentiles,  now  pointed  out  that  the  results  more  than  justified 

42 


FORERUNNERS    OF     ZIONISM 

their  attitude.  It  has  been  well  said  that  the  "Haskalah  was  a  right 
step,  but  in  the  wrong  direction."  The  introduction  to  general  culture 
became  a  signal  to  cast  off  Judaism  and  Jewish  ties.  In  the  end, 
the  poison  produced  its  own  antidote.  The  fullest  Russification  did 
not  serve,  it  appeared,  to  avert  pogroms,  or  the  May  Laws  which  con- 
gested the  Pale  to  the  stifling  point.  It  remained  for  one  of  the  most 
gifted  of  the  Maskilim  to  point  out  that  the  true  path  of  the  Haskalah 
lay  through  Jewish  nationalism.  Perez  Smolenskin  (1842-1885), 
writer  and  poet,  was  an  inspiring  exponent  of  the  nationalism  of  the 
Prophets.  The  Am  Olam,  the  Eternal  People,  he  said,  has  an  eternal 
spiritual-cultural  task.  In  Palestinian  colonization  he  saw  the  first 
stepping-stone  towards  his  aim.  The  Hebrew  language  he  loved  for 
its  own  sake,  and  as  the  vehicle  of  the  Prophetic  message.  He  founded 
a  little  monthly  journal,  Hashahar  (The  Dawn),  and  kept  it  going  at 
the  most  painful  sacrifices.  A  group  of  young  Maskilim  gathered 
about  Smolenskin,  and  the  Hashahar  served  both  as  a  medium  for 
nationalist  propaganda  and  for  the  evolution  of  modern  literary 
Hebrew.  He  strove  for  a  synthesis  of  modern  culture  with  the  Hebraic 
spirit,  and  saw  in  that  synthesis,  that  assimilation  to  itself  of  western 
progress  and  civilization,  the  only  possibility  of  a  full  development  for 
Jewish  national  life.  It  was  to  be  a  reversed  assimilation,  not  the  Jew 
lost  in  the  world,  but  adding  the  world  to  his  own  spiritual  possessions. 

Leo  Pinsker 

More  closely  akin  to  Herzl  than  any  other  of  his  forerunners  was 
Leo  Pinsker  (1821-1891),  a  Russian  physician  and  Maskil,  who  re- 
sembled Herzl  both  in  his  method  of  approach  to  the  Jewish  problem, 
and  in  his  proposal  to  deal  with  it  by  political  measures.  Though 
Pinsker  had  never  been  remote  from  the  Jewish  people,  it  was  the 
pogroms  and  the  May  Laws  which  stung  him  to  take  thought  for  the 
position  of  the  Jews,  just  as  the  Dreyfus  case  was  later  to  bring  Herzl 
to  self-realization.  In  his  brochure  Auto -Emancipation  (since  become 
one  of  the  classics  of  Zionism),  written  in  1882,  Pinsker  analyzes  the 
Jewish  situation.  Both  his  logic  and  his  sense  of  dignity  bring  him 
to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  no  remedy  but  by  way  of  self-help, 
and  that  self-help  must  be  achieved  through  political  means.  The 
Jewish  people  is  an  anomaly  among  the  nations,  he  contends:  it  is 
neither  alive,  as  a  properly  constituted  nation  ought  to  be,  with  a  com- 
mon land,  language,  and  institutions ;  nor  is  it  dead,  as  might  reason- 
ably be  expected  of  a  people  so  long  deprived  of  the  attributes  of  na- 
tionhood.    Instead,  the  Jews  are  the  living-dead,  a  ghost-nation  that 

43 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

inspires  fear  (and  therefore  hatred)  in  the  living  nations.  They  lack 
group-consciousness,  national  dignity,  national  self-respect;  conse- 
quently, they  can  inspire  no  respect  in  others.  They  are  everywhere 
aliens,  and  do  not  receive  the  toleration  accorded  to  other  foreigners, 
who  can  reciprocate  both  good  and  ill  in  their  own  homelands.  The 
cry  of  economic  exploitation  is  raised  against  the  Jews,  despite  their 
dire  mass-poverty.  Nor  is  there  a  Jewish  nation  with  which  the  other 
nations  can  treat;  they  know  only  Jews,  to  be  used  as  interest  or 
prejudice  may  dictate.  There  can  be  but  two  alternative  courses  of 
action  open  to  the  Jews :  Assimilation,  national  suicide  consciously 
planned ;  or,  reconstitution  as  a  nation  among  the  nations.  The  pres- 
ent state  is  intolerable.  Assimilation  is  the  way  of  death.  Even  if 
self-destruction  were  not  abhorrent,  the  other  nations  could  not  and 
would  not  absorb  so  many  millions  of  a  strongly  characterized  race. 
If  the  path  of  life  be  chosen,  the  national  self-consciousness  must  be 
stimulated,  until  by  organized  effort,  self-help  becomes  possible.  "We 
are  no  more  justified,"  he  says,  "in  leaving  our  national  fortunes  in  the 
hands  of  other  peoples,  than  we  are  in  making  them  responsible  for  our 
national  misfortunes."  He  refers  to  the  rise  of  small  nationalities  in 
Europe  in  the  early  nineteenth  century.  "Would  not  similar  action 
on  the  part  of  the  Jews  be  justified?"  Political  action  is  the  only  ade- 
quate method  of  self-help.  First  and  foremost  comes  the  question  of  a 
homeland.  When  writing  Auto-Emancipation,  he  held  no  brief  for 
Palestine.  The  God-idea  and  the  Bible  would  make  holy  any  land 
whither  the  Jewish  people  took  them.  He  was  to  learn,  as  Herzl 
learned,  how  inbred  is  the  attachment  of  the  Jewish  masses  to  Pales- 
tine. The  land  was  to  be  honorably  acquired  by  purchase,  the  Great 
Powers  concurring.  The  means  he  proposed  were  actualized  (though 
he  did  not  live  to  see  it)  in  the  Zionist  Congress,  the  Jewish  Colonial 
Trust,  the  National  Fund,  the  Palestine  Bureau  and  the  Ahoozahs. 
But  in  1882  the  times  were  not  yet  ripe  for  a  great  political  movement. 
The  then  existing  Palestine  colonization  societies  (the  Hoveve  Zion) 
rallied  about  Pinsker,  and  his  call  for  an  international  conference 
eventuated  in  November,  1884,  at  Kattowitz  (Silesia).  (See  Ch.  VIII 
and  XXIV.)  A  federation  was  formed,  of  which  Pinsker  became 
president.  The  Hoveve  Zion  embarked  on  no  political  activity,  and 
confined  themselves  strictly  to  practical  colonizing  work  in  Palestine, 
which  in  itself  strained  their  resources.  Wisely,  Pinsker  took  half  a 
loaf  when  no  more  was  to  be  had.  His  political  ideas  were  not  forgot- 
ten, and,  indeed,  prepared  the  ground  for  the  Zionist  movement  in 
very  definite  ways. 

44 


FORERUNNERS     OF    ZIONISM 

The  Kadimah 

Pinsker's  Auto-Emancipation  became  a  "Bible"  for  all  the  na- 
tionally-minded Jewish  university  students  of  the  time.  At  the  Uni- 
versity of  Vienna,  which  seethed  with  anti-Semitism,  the  Russian  and 
Rumanian  Jewish  students  were  organized  by  Smolenskin,  Birnbaum, 
and  other  leading  nationalists,  into  a  society  which  was  destined  for 
an  important  part  in  the  genesis  of  the  Zionist  movement.  They 
called  it  Kadimah,  the  Hebrew  for  both  "Eastward"  and  "Forward". 
The  Kadimah  gave  the  impetus  to  the  formation  of  Jewish  students' 
societies  and  federations  all  over  Central  and  Eastern  Europe,  which 
did  much  at  the  universities  to  invest  the  Jewish  name  with  a  dignity 
before  unthought  of.  When  Herzl  published  his  Judenstaat,  the 
Kadimah  petitioned  him  to  take  the  lead  in  executing  his  own  ideas. 
They  were  his  devoted  lieutenants  in  the  enormous  preparations  for 
the  first  Zionist  Congress  at  Basle  and,  at  the  Congress  itself,  joyous- 
ly served  as  pages  and  ushers.  The  Kadimah  has  ever  since  been  a 
training  ground  for  Zionist  workers  and  leaders. 

Lilienblum  and  Mohilewer 

Among  those  who  did  yeoman's  work  for  Palestinian  colonization 
were  Moshe  Loeb  Lilienblum  (1843-1911)  and  Rabbi  Samuel  Mohilewer 
(1824-1898).  Lilienblum  was  of  the  type  of  the  earlier  Maskilim, 
who  believed  that  the  Russification  of  the  Jews  would  solve  all  their 
problems.  The  pogroms  brought  him  a  rude  awakening,  as  they  did 
so  many  others  of  his  mind.  Lilienblum  was  converted  to  Jewish 
nationalism  by  Pinsker.  He  became  secretary  of  the  Hoveve  Zion  fed- 
eration, and  did  much  to  further  Palestinian  colonization  through  his 
literary  propaganda. 

Rabbi  Samuel  Mohilewer  consistently  advocated  European  cul- 
ture for  the  Russian  Jews.  With  his  balanced  outlook,  however,  he 
could  not  imagine  that  university  education  alone  would  save  the  sore- 
ly oppressed  people.  He  enlisted  the  invaluable  aid  of  Baron  Edmond 
de  Rothschild  for  Palestinian  colonization,  and  tried,  though  unsuc- 
cessfully, to  induce  Baron  de  Hirsch,  also,  to  concentrate  his  efforts  on 
Palestine.  Rabbi  Mohilewer  himself  was  one  of  the  leading  spirits  in 
the  founding  of  the  Jewish  village  of  Rehobot  by  a  group  of  well-to-do 
Russian  Jews.  When  the  political  Zionist  movement  arose,  he  sup- 
ported it  with  might  and  main.  He  even  left  a  Zionist  testament  to  the 
Jewish  people,  written  on  the  day  before  his  death. 

45 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Ahad  Ha-Am  and  Eliezer  ben  Yehudah 

The  factors  that  went  to  the  making  of  Zionism  are  in  their  nature 
practical,  political,  and,  supremely  important  from  the  Jewish  stand- 
point, spiritual.  We  have  seen  that  once  the  Haskalah  movement  found 
its  true  course  in  Jewish  nationalism,  the  Prophetic  teachings  found 
able  and  fervent  presentation  by  the  Maskilim.  Concomitantly,  the 
revival  of  Hebrew  proceeded  apace.  Head  and  front  of  the  propa- 
ganda for  the  national-spiritual  idea  is  Asher  Ginsberg  (better  known 
by  his  pen  name  of  Ahad  Ha-Am,  "One  of  the  People)",  distinguished 
philosopher  and  master  Hebrew  stylist.  He  was  a  deeply  interested 
member  of  the  old  Hoveve  Zion.  Ahad  Ha-Am  has  been  popularly 
thought  to  be  an  opponent  of  political  Zionism.  Yet  his  cardinal  idea 
of  a  "spiritual  center"  involves  some  sort  of  political  status  for  the 
Palestinian  Jews.  It  was  not  that  he  disapproved  of  Political  Zionism 
in  theory;  but  he  feared,  rather,  that  all  the  glorious  old  hopes  and 
teachings  would  be  ignored  by  a  movement  frankly  organized  out  of 
political  and  economic  considerations.  As  the  years  went  by,  Ahad 
Ha-Am's  philosophy  took  an  ever  greater  hold  on  many  adherents  of 
the  Herzlian  movement.  There  is,  in  truth,  no  contradiction  between 
Zionism  and  Ahad  Ha-Amism,  but  rather  a  synthesis  of  political  and 
cultural  motives  blending  for  a  common  purpose.     (See  Ch.  XVII.) 

One  of  the  surest  signs  that  a  spiritual  as  well  as  a  physical  reju- 
venation of  the  Jewish  people  is  in  process  through  contact  with  the 
soil  of  Palestine,  is  the  re-instatement  of  Hebrew  as  a  living  tongue.  It 
was  a  task  that  might  have  daunted  the  boldest  of  spirits.  Literary 
and  liturgical  usage  is  not  precisely  the  means  by  which  a  language 
is  kept  flexible  and  responsive  to  everyday  requirements.  It  re- 
mained for  another  Russian  Jew,  and  one  of  the  earliest  protagonists 
of  Zionism,  Eliezer  ben  Yehudah,  to  establish  Hebrew  as  the  national 
language  in  Palestine.  He  went  there  a  generation  ago,  and  had  to 
work  for  a  while  almost  single-handed.  We  know  him  now  as  the 
compiler  of  a  great  all-inclusive  Hebrew  dictionary.  To-day  the  He- 
brew speech  is  alive  and  virile,  and  it  is  the  most  precious  treasure  of 
the  New  Palestine.    (See  Ch.  XXXII.) 

References: 

Borne  and  Jerusalem,  by  Moses  Hess.  Auto-Emancipation,  by  Leo  Pinsker. 
Pinslcer  and  His  Brochure,  by  Ahad  Ha-Am. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

A  digest  of  Borne  and  Jerusalem.    A  digest  of  Auto-Emancipation. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HOVEVE  ZION* 

From  the  1860's  on,  Palestine  colonization  societies  began  to 
spring  up.  By  1882  there  were  quite  a  number  of  societies  all  over 
Europe  known  as  Hoveve  Zion  (Lovers  of  Zion)  which  constituted,  in 
an  informal  way,  the  Hibbat  Zion  movement.  Societies  were  formed 
also  in  America.  In  his  Auto-Emancipation,  Pinsker  appealed  for  a 
general  Jewish  assembly  to  consider  the  idea  of  Jewish  self-liberation. 

The  Odessa  Committee 

As  a  result,  representatives  of  Hoveve  Zion  societies  in  various 
countries  gathered  at  Kattowitz  (Silesia)  in  November,  1884,  and 
formed  a  federation.  It  was  not  until  1890,  however,  that  the  federa- 
tion, which  had  headquarters  in  Odessa,  was  able  to  obtain  official 
sanction  from  the  Russian  Government.  It  is  popularly  known  as  the 
"Odessa  Committee",  and  has  done  much  to  uphold  the  settlers  and  to 
further  Jewish  education  in  Palestine.  (See  Ch.  XXIV.)  Pinsker  be- 
came president  of  the  new  federation.  True,  it  fell  far  short  of  his  ad- 
vanced political  thinking,  since  it  could  manage  only  colonizing  activi- 
ties on  a  very  small  scale ;  and  of  diplomatic  negotiation  there  was  no 
thought.  Pinsker  did  not  even  live  to  see  the  rise  of  the  great  politi- 
cal movement  that  he  would  so  warmly  have  welcomed. 

Early  Attempts  at  Colonization 

When  the  Kattowitz  conference  was  held,  Palestinian  colonization 
was  already  several  years  old.  And  a  curious  and  unprecedented 
picture  it  presented;  a  land  neglected  and  sterile  for  twenty  cen- 
turies ;  a  few  little  groups  of  Jews,  from  Russia  and  Rumania,  for  the 
most  part,  rich  in  idealism  and  the  courageous  pioneering  spirit, 
but  pitifully  poor  in  information  about  the  inhabitants,  the  climate, 
the  possibilities  of  the  land,  its  laws  and  customs.  They  had  some 
backing,  it  is  true,  in  Europe.  There  were  the  Hoveve  Zion,  who  were 
at  one  with  them  in  idealism  and  love  of  Palestine;  some  Orthodox 

*  By  Lotta  Levenaohn. 

47 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

West  European  Jews  who  deemed  support  of  Yishub  Erez  Israel  a  re- 
ligious duty;  the  great  Jewish  philanthropic  organizations  like  the 
ICA  (The  Jewish  Colonization  Association)  and  the  Alliance  Israelite 
Universelle;  and,  in  a  class  by  himself,  that  ever  present  friend-in-need 
of  the  colonists,  Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild  of  Paris,  "our  Baron", 
as  he  is  affectionately  called  in  Palestine.  But  the  fact  remains  that 
Hibbat  Zion,  for  all  its  fervor  and  idealism,  was  a  philanthropic  move- 
ment, and  that  fact  had  undesirable  implications  and  effects  for  the 
colonists. 

The  Bilu 

To  appreciate  the  struggles,  the  costly  errors — costly  in  terms  of 
human  life  as  well  as  in  money  and  in  time — the  grit  and  courage  and 
"stick-to-itiveness"  of  the  one-time  Ghetto  dwellers,  one  must  take  up 
the  story  of  the  Jewish  villages  one  by  one.  Even  in  the  most  general 
reference  to  the  new  Yishub,  one  must  mention  the  Russian  students' 
organization,  the  Bilu  (formed  from  the  Hebrew  initials  of  "O  House 
of  Jacob,  come,  let  us  go  up").  The  Bilu  abandoned  their  university 
careers  so  that  they  might  help  to  reclaim  the  land.  They  were  con- 
tent to  do  the  roughest  work  for  the  smallest  wage  as  long  as  they 
could  give  service  to  the  Land,  and  many  gave  life  itself. 

The  Measure  of  Achievement 

But  those  early  pioneers  learned  how  to  do  things,  somehow. 
There  are  now  about  fifty  Jewish  settlements  in  Judaea,  Samaria, 
Upper  and  Lower  Galilee,  and  even  trans-Jordania.  Great  vine- 
yards and  orange  groves  form  the  bases  of  thriving  export  indus- 
tries. The  once  sterile  soil  produces  grain  and  olives  and  vegetables 
and  fruits  abundantly.  The  swamps  that  cost  so  many  precious  lives 
through  malarial  infection,  have  been  dried  out  near  the  Jewish  settle- 
ments by  the  beautiful  groves  of  eucalyptus  trees,  imported  by  the 
Jews  from  Australia.  Police  protection  in  the  rural  districts  was  con- 
spicuously absent,  though  taxes  were  heavy.  A  Jewish  constabulary 
was  therefore  formed  (the  Shomerim).  •  These  graduates  of  Russian 
and  Rumanian  Ghettos  can  ride  and  shoot  well  enough  to  win  the  re- 
spect of  the  Bedouin,  themselves  not  inexpert  in  such  arts. 

The  Jewish  villages  suffered  much  during  the  philanthropic  phase, 
which  lasted,  of  course,  until  they  could  become  self-sustaining.  When 
the  Zionist  Organization  began  to  operate  in  Palestine,  through  the 
National  Fund  and  the  Anglo-Palestine  Bank,  it  served  a  most  useful 

48 


HOVEVE     ZION 

economic  purpose  by  creating  sound  conditions  of  credit  for  the  Jew- 
ish settlers. 

It  is  almost  redundant  to  remark  that  in  the  Jewish  Settlement  the 
needs  of  the  spirit  were  at  no  stage  neglected,  however  untoward  ma- 
terial conditions.  The  Jewish  educational  system  of  Palestine  ranges 
all  the  way  from  the  kindergartens  to  the  projected  Hebrew  Univers- 
ity, for  which  the  cornerstone  was  laid  in  July,  1918. 

(For  a  fuller  account  of  early  colonization,  see  Ch.  XXIV  to 
XXXII.) 

Reference: 

Recent  Jewish  Progress  in  Palestine,  by  Henrietta  Szold;  Rural  Development; 
First  Period,  p.  37. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild.     The  danger  of  philanthropy  to  democracy. 


49 


CHAPTER  IX 

THEODOR    HERZL* 

Boyhood  and  Youth 

Theodor  Herzl  was  born  May  21,  I860,  in  Budapest,  the  capital  of 
Hungary.  His  parents,  people  of  fine  grain,  were  in  a  comfortable 
financial  position.  Although  he  received  but  a  very  meager  Jewish 
education,  his  Jewish  pride  asserted  itself  in  his  earliest  years. 

When  he  was  eighteen  years  old,  his  family  removed  to  Vienna. 
Here  he  took  up  the  study  of  law.  In  the  university  he  belonged  to  a 
student  fraternity  which  decided  one  day  to  admit  no  more  Jews  to 
membership  while  "graciously"  allowing  those  Jews  already  members 
to  stay.  Herzl  immediately  sent  in  his  resignation  to  those  "elegant 
young  men". 

After  securing  his  juridical  degree  in  1884,  he  retired  to  the  Tyrol- 
ean city  of  Salzburg,  attracted  by  its  beautiful  scenery,  there  to  prac- 
tise his  profession.  But  he  gave  himself  up  almost  entirely  to  litera- 
ture. His  enormous  capacity  for  work  revealed  itself  at  this  time,  and 
resulted  in  the  production  of  a  large  number  of  plays,  essays,  sketches, 
critical  studies,  etc.  Many  of  his  plays  were  successfully  produced. 
He  became  famous  as  a  journalist  and  writer  of  feuilletons,  or  short 
sketches.  His  interests  were  far  removed  from  things  Jewish.  His 
literary  successes  and  his  travels  made  him  lose  touch  with  the  miser- 
ies and  problems  of  Jewish  life. 

"A  Jewish  State" 

In  1891  he  went  to  Paris  as  correspondent  of  the  Vienna  news- 
paper, Die  Neue  Freie  Presse,  an  event  which  brought  a  new  turn  to 
his  thought  and  action.  He  learned  the  intricacies  of  French  politics, 
he  learned  the  ways  of  courts  and  salons — an  unconscious  preparation 
for  a  national  task.  In  Paris  the  Dreyfus  affair  was  at  that  time  ab- 
sorbing attention,  and  there  he  witnessed  such  a  violent  and  unreason- 
ing exhibition  of  hatred  and  spite  against  the  Jews  that  he  was  forced 
to  look  into  his  own  soul  and  define  his  attitude  to  his  own  people.  He 
saw  the  vast  majority  of  the  French  nation  eager  "to  convict  one  Jew, 

*  By  Israel  Goldberg. 

50 


THEODOR      HERZL 

and,  in  him,  all  Jews."  He  underwent  a  painful  and  tremendous  inner 
struggle,  from  which  he  emerged  with  a  clear  conception  of  the  Jewish 
problem  and  with  a  simple  but  fundamental  plan  for  its  solution.  Herzl 
came  back  to  his  own  people,  not  alone  to  suffer  with  them,  but  to  lead 
them  to  a  new  and  dignified  life. 

He  embodied  his  ideas  in  a  pamphlet,  which  he  called  The  Jewish 
State.  During  the  last  two  months  of  his  stay  in  Paris  he  worked  on 
this  pamphlet  every  day,  until  he  was  exhausted.  While  writing,  as 
he  tells  us  in  his  little  Autobiography,  he  seemed  to  hear  the  rushing  of 
eagles  above  his  head. 

In  this  pamphlet,  Herzl  emphasized  the  following  two  proposi- 
tions : 

First:  The  Jews  are  a  distinct  nation,  whose  problem  can  be 
solved  only  by  restoring  them  to  a  normal  national  life  in  a  land  of 
their  own.  He  mentions  Palestine  and  Argentina  as  possible  Jewish 
lands. 

Second :  The  Jewish  problem  can  be  solved  only  through  the  self- 
activity  of  the  Jewish  people — that  is  to  say,  the  Jewish  problem  can 
be  solved  only  by  the  Jews  themselves. 

With  the  precision  of  an  architect  and  the  inspired  vision  of  a 
prophet,  Herzl  proceeds  to  outline  in  detail  the  process  of  creation  of 
the  Jewish  State.  The  "Society  of  Jews"  is  to  be  the  recognized  po- 
litical agency  for  the  Jewish  people,  the  "Jewish  Company"  its  finan- 
cial and  executive  arm.  The  territorial  rights  are  to  be  secured  by  a 
charter  with  the  sanction  and  good-will  of  all  the  European  govern- 
ments. Colonization  is  to  proceed  by  organized  groups.  The  seven- 
hour  working  day  is  to  be  instituted.  The  Jewish  masses,  and  even 
some  from  the  upper  classes,  will  flock  to  the  new  land  to  gain  eco- 
nomic and  spiritual  freedom.  "A  generation  of  wonderful  Jews  will 
spring  from  the  earth.  The  Maccabees  will  rise  again."  Let  the  open- 
ing words  once  more  be  repeated:  "The  Jews  who  will  it,  shall  have  a 
State  of  their  own." 

Herzl  Hailed  as  Leader 

It  was  neither  the  intention  nor  the  desire  of  Herzl  to  take  the 
lead  in  a  movement  for  the  creation  of  a  Jewish  State.  Even  before 
publishing  his  pamphlet  he  had  conferred  and  corresponded  with  the 
great  Jewish  philanthropist,  Baron  Maurice  de  Hirsch,  who,  he  hoped, 
would  start  the  movement.  But  the  timidity  and  lack  of  imagination 
which  has  characterized  so  much  of  Jewish  philanthropy  made  even 
the  great  Hirsch  unresponsive  to  Herzl's  plea. 

51 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

In  fact,  of  the  notable  Jewish  personalities  of  that  day,  only  one, 
the  famous  writer,  Max  Nordau,  came  at  once  to  his  support.  The 
others  remained  either  hostile  or  indifferent. 

But  as  for  the  great  masses  of  the  Jewish  people,  Herzl  in  his 
Judenstaat  had  spoken  the  word  for  which  they  were  waiting.  The 
first  public  expression  of  adherence  came  from  Jewish  students  in  Aus- 
tria and  Germany,  from  whom  he  received  an  address  covered  with 
thousands  of  signatures.  From  Russia,  Galicia,  Rumania,  Bulgaria, 
and  Hungary  he  received  enthusiastic  expressions  of  adherence  and 
pleas  for  action.  Herzl  was  thus  forced  by  circumstances  to  take  the 
lead.  At  the  same  time,  he  reached  the  conclusion  that  the  only  land 
which  could  fire  the  imagination  and  energize  the  will  of  the  Jewish 
people  was  Palestine.  From  this  belief  he  never  swerved.  When 
Herzl  wrote  the  Judenstaat,  he  did  not  even  know  that  he  lived  in  the 
same  world  with  others  who  had  seen  the  same  vision.  He  had  never 
heard  of  Hess,  Kalischer,  Pinsker.  He  did  not  know  of  the  Hoveve 
Zion;  and  yet  it  was  he  who  now  gathered  under  his  leadership  the 
various  struggling  groups  of  unorganized  Zionist  enthusiasts.  In- 
spired with  his  great  mission,  Herzl  now  began  his  career  of  wonder- 
ful activity.  In  order  to  acquaint  himself  with  the  political  and  diplo- 
matic ground  he  made  a  special  journey  to  Constantinople  (April, 
1896).  He  returned  buoyantly  optimistic,  and  on  his  way  through 
Sofia  received  a  stirring  ovation  from  the  Bulgarian  Jews.  In  Eng- 
land, although  he  found  opposition  or  indifference  among  the  rich  and 
distinguished  Jews,  he  was  hailed  as  leader  by  the  Zionists  of  the  East 
End  of  London. 

The  First  Zionist  Congress 

He  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  most  important  to  win  the 
Jewish  masses,  and  in  order  to  give  them  the  opportunity  to  declare 
themselves,  as  well  as  to  provide  a  general  forum  for  the  discussion  of 
the  Jewish  problem,  he  conceived  the  idea  of  convening  a  Jewish  Con- 
gress. In  the  name  of  a  commission  organized  for  the  purpose,  he 
issued  a  call  for  such  a  Congress,  which  was  to  convene  in  Munich  in 
August,  1897.  "The  direction  of  Jewish  affairs,"  said  he  in  this  call, 
"must  not  be  left  to  the  will  of  individuals,  no  matter  how  well-inten- 
tioned they  may  be.  A  forum  must  be  created,  before  which  each  one 
may  be  made  to  account  for  what  he  does  or  fails  to  do  in  Jewry." 

A  storm  of  opposition  arose  from  most  of  the  prominent  Jews  of 
Western  Europe,  who  were  unaccustomed  and  afraid  to  discuss  Jewish 
affairs  openly  and  before  a  democratic  Jewish  body.    The  representa- 

52 


THEODOR     HERZL 

tives  of  the  Munich  Jewish  community  objected  to  the  holding  of  the 
Congress  in  their  city.  As  a  result,  the  Swiss  city  of  Basle  was  chosen. 
Finally,  a  number  of  German  Rabbis,  fearful  lest  their  German  patriot- 
ism be  questioned,  issued  a  formal  protest  against  the  holding  of  the 
Congress.  They  have  been  known  henceforth  as  the  Protestrabbincr. 
But  the  enthusiasm  and  support  which  Herzl  found  among  the  Jews 
of  Eastern  Europe  more  than  made  up  for  the  opposition  of  the 
"emancipated". 

In  the  meantime,  in  order  to  have  a  weapon  of  defence  against  his 
numerous  opponents  and  a  means  of  advancing  the  Jewish  cause, 
Herzl  had  with  his  own  funds  founded  the  weekly  newspaper,  Die  Welt. 

The  first  representative  Jewish  assembly  since  the  dispersion,  the 
first  Zionist  Congress  brought  together  197  delegates  from  almost 
every  land  of  the  earth.  The  movement  for  the  redemption  of  the 
Jews  through  the  national  organization  and  self-activity  of  the  Jewish 
people  was  inaugurated,  and  its  program  defined  to  be  the  creation  of 
"a  publicly  recognized,  legally  secured  home  for  the  Jewish  people  in 
Palestine."  Over  the  entire  event  hovered  the  magnetic  personality 
and  creative  spirit  of  Theodor  Herzl. 

Through  the  first  Congress  Herzl  came  to  know  the  Russian  Jews. 
He  found  among  them  his  staunchest  friends  and  his  staunchest  oppo- 
nents. From  the  begining  there  was  opposition  on  the  part  of  some 
of  the  Hoveve  Zion  to  Herzl's  political  program. 

Statesman  and  Diplomat 

As  leader  of  an  organized  movement,  Herzl  now  took  up  with 
feverish  energy  the  numerous  tasks  which  crowded  in  upon  him,  chief 
of  which,  at  this  moment,  was  the  creation  of  the  financial  instrument  of 
the  movement,  the  Jewish  Colonial  Bank.  (See  Ch.  XI.)  Here  again 
it  was  the  masses  of  the  Jewish  people  who  subscribed  the  greater 
portion  of  the  Bank's  capital. 

The  second  Congress,  held  in  1898,  was  another  triumph  for  the 
ideas  and  personality  of  Herzl.  The  enthusiasm  with  which  he  was 
greeted  was  indescribable.  The  principles  he  advocated  for  the  con- 
trol of  Palestinian  colonization  were  practically  adopted.  Herzl  al- 
ways discouraged  haphazard  colonization,  and  insisted  on  protection  by 
political  guarantees.  That  is  what  was  meant  by  political  Zionism.  He 
opposed  infiltration,  seeking  instead  an  organized  mass  migration,  an 
entrance,  as  he  put  it,  through  the  front  door,  not  the  back  door.  A 
commission  was  elected  to  institute  the  Colonial  Bank.  During  the  year 
the  movement  had  grown  enormously. 

53 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

To  secure  the  consent  of  the  governments,  Herzl  sought  to  win 
the  good-will  of  the  European  monarchs.  He  was  received  in  au- 
dience by  some  of  the  most  powerful  rulers  or  their  chief  ministers. 
Upon  all  of  them  his  wonderful  personality  made  a  profound  impres- 
sion. He  appeared  before  them  not  as  a  suppliant  for  favors,  but  as 
the  emissary  of  a  people,  the  guardian  of  their  political  interests  and 
their  dignity,  in  presence  and  bearing  a  king  among  kings. 

In  the  fall  of  1898,  Herzl,  at  the  head  of  a  Jewish  deputation,  was 
received  by  the  German  Emperor,  William  II,  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem. 
In  May,  1901,  he  had  his  first  audience  with  the  Sultan  of  Turkey. 
In  the  summer  of  1903,  upon  the  invitation  of  the  Russian  minister, 
Von  Plehve,  he  visited  the  Russian  capital  and  had  interviews  with  the 
principal  Russian  ministers.  Later,  he  was  also  received  by  the  King 
of  Italy,  Victor  Emanuel  II,  and  by  the  Pope.  For  the  first  time  the 
problem  of  the  Jewish  people,  through  Herzl,  was  being  treated  as  a 
political  question. 

In  the  meantime,  as  the  movement  continued  to  grow,  its  needs' 
and  problems  multiplied.  The  Colonial  Bank,  after  numerous  difficul- 
ties had  been  overcome,  was  at  length  founded.  At  the  third  Congress, 
Herzl  reported :  "It  was  a  good  year ;  we  have  moved  a  step  for- 
ward." But  the  strain  and  struggle  were  intense  and  the  heart  of  the 
great  champion  was  beginning  to  be  affected. 

It  seemed  doubtful  if  Herzl  would  find  the  strength  to  attend  the 
fourth  Zionist  Congress  in  London.  But  the  mighty  will  compelled 
the  weak  heart.  He  left  his  sick  bed  and  in  the  midst  of  a  group  of 
the  foremost  men  in  Jewry,  Nordau,  Mandelstamm,  Gaster,  Zangwill, 
his  majestic  personality  stood  forth  and  thrilled  the  vast  throng  that 
gathered  in  the  great  assembly  hall,  as  well  as  the  delegates  at  the 
sessions  of  the  Congress.  The  English  press  and  English  statesmen 
hailed  the  movement  and  promised  their  support. 

If  only  the  rich  and  powerful  among  the  Jews  had  come  to  sup- 
port him !  Then  his  audiences  with  the  Turkish  ruler,  upon  whom  he 
produced  so  deep  and  favorable  an  impression,  would  have  resulted  in 
the  obtaining  of  that  charter  for  the  Jewish  occupation  of  Palestine 
which  Herzl  sought.  But  the  rich  and  complacent  Jews  held  aloof, 
and  Herzl,  although  he  suffered  keen  disappointment,  resolved  to 
put  his  trust  in  the  poor.  At  the  fifth  Congress,  held  at  Basle  (1901), 
the  Jewish  National  Fund  was  created,  the  fund  through  which  the 
vast  masses  of  the  people,  by  uniting  their  strength,  might  gather  the 
means  which  the  short-sighted  and  timid  rich  withheld.    (See  Ch.  XI.) 

54 


THEODOR  HERZL 


THEODOR      HERZL 

In  the  midst  of  these  labors,  Herzl  found  time  to  write  his  novel 
of  Zionist  vision,  Altneuland. 

On  July  16,  1902,  Herzl  testified  as  an  expert  on  Jewish  affairs 
before  the  Alien  Commission  which  was  investigating  immigration 
into  England.  His  personality  and  his  testimony  produced  a  pro- 
found effect,  and  from  that  moment  the  British  Government  began  to 
interest  itself  in  his  plans  with  far-reaching  consequences. 

Trip  to  Russia 

Early  in  August,  by  invitation  of  the  Russian  minister,  Von 
Plehve,  he  journeyed  to  Petrograd  in  order  to  try  to  convince  the 
Russian  Government  that  Zionism  did  not  conflict  with  Russian  inter- 
ests. He  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  Russian  ministers  important 
promises  in  the  interests  of  Zionism.  The  most  formidable  obstacles 
seemed  to  melt  away  from  his  triumphal  path.  At  that  time  the  Gov- 
ernment approved  of  Zionism  because  it  supposed  it  would  remove  the 
Jews.  Later  the  Zionist  movement,  showing  its  democratic  and  re- 
generative character,  was  bitterly  opposed  and  persecuted  by  the  Im- 
perial Russian  Government.  During  Herzl's  stay  in  Russia  he  was 
the  witness  of  the  misery  and  oppression  of  the  Jewish  population. 

On  his  return,  the  streets  of  Vilna  were  dense  with  the  throngs 
who  came  out  to  greet  him.  In  the  crowded  synagogue,  when  the  old 
Rabbi  in  his  tremulous  voice  gave  him  the  blessing,  the  people  burst 
into  loud  weeping.  It  was  the  prayer  of  gratitude  and  love  addressed 
by  a  helpless  people  to  its  champion.  In  Vilna,  too,  Herzl  saw  the 
Cossacks  use  their  whips  upon  the  crowds  who  gathered  at  the  sta- 
tion to  hail  him.  His  great  heart  was  wrung  with  pity.  But  the 
speedy  redemption  of  his  people  seemed  to  be  in  sight. 

In  order,  however,  to  obtain  from  the  Sultan  the  charter  for  the 
colonization  of  Palestine,  very  large  sums  were  required,  sums  much 
larger  than  could  be  obtained  soon  enough  from  the  impoverished 
masses  of  the  Jewish  people.  The  Kishineff  massacre  had  occurred, 
and,  while  it  horrified  the  civilized  world,  the  threat  and  danger  of 
further  massacres,  like  a  dreadful  shadow,  hovered  over  the  life  of  the 
Jews  of  Russia.    Immediate  relief  was  imperative. 

Uganda :  A  Shelter  for  the  Night 

And  now,  as  if  in  answer  to  this  need,  came  the  British  Govern- 
ment and  offered  territory  in  one  of  its  East  African  colonies,  known 
as  Uganda,  for  colonization  by  the  Jews.  Even  before  this,  El- 
Arish,  south  of  Palestine,  had  been  offered  by  Great  Britain,  but  for 
important  reasons  could  not  be  accepted.    Herzl  laid  the  Uganda  offer 

55 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

before  the  sixth  Zionist  Congress  held  in  Basle  on  August  23,  1903. 
But  even  in  his  opening  speech  Herzl  declared  the  ultimate  aim  of  the 
Jewish  people  to  be  no  land  other  than  Palestine.  And  his  closing 
speech  he  ended  with  the  words :  "If  I  forget  thee,  O  Jerusalem,  let 
my  right  hand  forget  its  cunning."  Uganda  he  looked  upon  merely  as  a 
"shelter  for  the  night,"  and  as  a  political  weapon  in  the  struggle  for 
Zion.    (SeeCh.  X.) 

Nevertheless,  there  were  many  men  who  declared  that  by  his  will- 
ingness to  accept  Uganda,  Herzl  had  surrendered  Palestine.  No 
amount  of  assurance  could  convince  them  or  pacify  them.  They  at- 
tacked Herzl.  Feeling  ran  high.  A  number  of  the  foremost  Russian 
Jews  met  in  the  famous  Conference  at  Charkow  and  chose  a  deputa- 
tion to  lay  certain  ultimatums  before  Herzl.  The  Charkow  deputation 
came,  but,  having  come  as  accusers,  they  went  away  as  the  accused. 
With  infinite  patience,  Herzl  answered  his  opponents  and  reiterated 
his  assurance.  At  the  sessions  of  the  Greater  Actions  Committee  of 
April  11-15,  1904,  peace  was  finally  re-established  and  a  vote  of  con- 
fidence was  given  to  the  leader. 

The  Last  Struggle 

Throughout  this  conflict  Herzl  suffered  acutely.  The  heart  attacks 
increased,  but  in  spite  of  the  entreaties  of  his  friends  he  refused  to 
spare  himself.  In  the  little  mountain  town  of  Edlach,  whither  he 
had  gone  for  rest  and  cure,  Herzl,  early  in  July,  1904,  was  at 
last  forced  to  bed.  He  knew  that  the  end  was  near.  "Greet  Palestine 
for  me,"  are  his  words  to  a  friend,  "I  have  given  my  lifeblood  to  my 
people!"  In  spite  of  great  suffering  he  remained  uncomplaining, 
cheerful,  and  self-possessed.  Finally,  on  the  afternoon  of  July  3rd, 
1904,  after  having  kept  Death  at  bay  by  sheer  power  of  will  until  he 
could  again  see  his  mother  and  children,  Herzl,  aged  only  forty-four 
years,  breathed  his  last.  The  Jewish  people  lost  the  strongest,  the 
most  glorious  personality  it  has  produced  in  modern  times. 

References: 

The  Jewish  State,  by  Theodor  Herzl.  Congress  Addresses,  by  Theodor  Herzl. 
Das  Leben  Theodor  Herzls  (German),  by  A.  Friedemann. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

A  digest  of  Altneuland.    A  digest  of  The  Jewish  State. 


5(5 


CHAPTER  X 
THE     INTERNATIONAL     ZIONIST     ORGANIZATION 

The  Zionist  Congress 

Since  the  calling  of  the  first  Zionist  Congress  by  Herzl  in  1897, 
the  Congress  has  been  the  supreme  authority  and  organ  of  the  Zionist 
Organization.  The  Zionist  Congress  is  the  Jewish  Congress.  For 
2,000  years  there  had  been  no  political  expression  of  Jewish  national- 
ity. Representatives  came  to  the  Congresses  from  every  country,  to 
speak  not  for  a  party  in  Jewry,  but  for  the  Jewish  people.  After  the  hedg- 
ing of  many  West  European  Jews,  who  attempted  to  hide  everything 
Jewish  lest  it  be  the  cause  of  prejudice,  this  public  demonstration  of 
Jewishness  came  as  a  shock,  and  frightened  those  Jews  who  believed 
that  emancipation  must  be  bought  with  assimilation.  Hence  the  bit- 
ter opposition  to  the  first  Congress  on  the  part  of  certain  Rabbis  and 
their  communities  in  Austria  and  Germany,  which  made  it  impossible 
to  hold  the  Congress  in  Munich  as  originally  planned.  Perhaps  the 
democratic  nature  of  Jewish  aspirations  appealed  to  the  Swiss  de- 
mocracy, which  welcomed  the  first  Congress  at  Basle,  and  recognized 
the  Jewish  flag. 

It  is  Democratic 

Democratic  representation  is  the  keynote  of  the  Congress.  Its 
delegates  are  elected  upon  the  basis  of  one  for  every  400  shekel  payers. 
All  Zionists — that  means  all  shekel  payers — without  distinction  of 
sex,  above  the  age  of  18,  are  eligible  to  vote  in  the  elections,  and  those 
above  the  age  of  24  are  eligible  for  election  as  delegates. 

It  is  Representative 

In  order  that  the  Congress  may  be  representative,  Zionists  in  all 
countries  must  be  properly  organized,  at  least  for  purposes  of  election. 
The  Congress  is  the  highest  expression  of  the  ideal  of  Zionism  in  the 
Diaspora,  an  organized  Jewish  people.  Since  the  Congress  is  the  only 
representative  organ  of  world  Jewry,  it  must  be  accounted  as  such 
even  if  a  majority  of  Jewish  individuals  should  not  take  advantage  of 
this  opportunity  to  be  represented.  It  is  the  only  democratic  body  in 
Jewry  open  to  every  Jew  on  a  common  national  basis,  without  regard 
to  party,  religious  affiliation,  or  citizenship. 

<f"  57 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

The  Zionist  Organization  has  been  officially  recognized  by  the 
nations  of  the  world  as  the  political  representative  of  the  Jewish 
people. 

Earlier  Modern  Attempts  at  International  Jewish  Action 

Former  attempts  at  international  Jewish  representation  were  al- 
ways due  to  abnormal  Jewish  conditions,  to  a  desire  to  repair  damage, 
and  always  degenerated  into  local  charitable  undertakings.  In  1860 
there  was  founded  in  Paris  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,  organ- 
ized for  defence  and  relief  as  a  result  of  the  Damascus  affair,  when 
the  horrors  attending  a  blood  accusation  convulsed  the  whole  Jewish 
world.  But  European  national  jealousies  made  the  Alliance  Univer- 
selle anything  but  universal.  Der  Hilfsvercin  der  Deutschen  Juden 
was  an  offshoot  of  it.  Both  of  these  societies  were  organized  for  relief, 
and  under  abnormal  conditions.  Later  these  two  European  philanthropic 
societies  were  drawn  into  educational  work  in  the  Orient  and  especially 
in  Palestine.  But  their  political  interests  could  be  only  European, 
not  Jewish,  and  so  they  proved  a  danger  to  the  new  Yishub.  The 
pupils  of  the  Alliance  schools  had  only  one  ambition,  to  settle  in 
Paris,  and  the  Hilfsverein  turned  into  a  long  arm  of  the  German  Gov- 
ernment to  Germanize  the  Palestinian  Jews.  Zionism  alone  has  or- 
ganized Jewry  on  a  constructive,  normal,  Jewish  basis. 

Organization  of  the  Zionist  Congress 

At  the  first  Zionist  Congress  in  Basle,  Switzerland,  August  29-31, 
1897,  the  Zionist  Organization  was  created  in  the  following  form: 

The  Central  Committee,  to  which  each  national  Federation 
elects  a  number  of  members  proportionate  to  its  own  membership,  has 
the  authority  to  adopt  important  decisions  in  the  interval  between  one 
Congress  and  the  next.  It  meets  once  between  Congresses  with  the 
Inner  Actions  Committee. 

The  Actions  Committee  is  the  executive  committee  of  the  Congress, 
and  consists  of  25  members  elected  by  the  Congress,  and  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Inner  Actions  Committee.  It  carries  the  mandates  of  the  Con- 
gress and  conducts  the  business  of  the  Organization. 

The  Inner  Actions  Committee  is  the  administrative  committee  of  the 
Actions  Committee.  It  is  elected  by  the  Congress  itself.  Its  number  has 
varied  from  five  to  seven  members.  All  its  members  must  reside  in 
the  same  city,  that  they  may  meet  frequently. 

Federations  are  organized  in  all  countries  which  hold  conventions 
and  have  democratic  organization.  Local  organization,  dues,  etc.,  are 
determined  by  local  needs. 

58 


THE   INTERNATIONAL   ZIONIST   ORGANIZATION 

The  Shekel 

The  shekel — or  poll-tax  of  $0.25  per  annum — must  be  paid  by  every 
organized  Zionist  in  the  world,  through  his  local  Federation  or  party. 
It  is  used  by  the  Actions  Committee  for  organization  purposes.  It  is 
based  on  the  Biblical  poll-tax  which  was  in  post-Biblical  times  col- 
lected from  all  Jews  everywhere  for  the  support  of  the  Temple. 

The  Zionist  Flag 

The  Zionist  flag  is  a  white  ground  with  a  light  blue  stripe  near 
each  border,  running  horizontally,  and  a  light  blue  Magen  David,  or 
double  triangle  (six-pointed  star),  in  the  center  between  the  two 
stripes.  After  the  first  Zionist  Congress  this  flag  was  suggested  by 
one  of  the  members,  it  being  based  upon  the  Talit  worn  by  all  pious 
Jews,  which  is  white  with  a  blue  stripe  near  the  border.  The  star  is,  of 
course,  the  traditional  "Star  of  David"  used  in  all  synagogues.  Hence 
the  flag  embodies  ancient  Jewish  custom  and  law. 

The  First  Congress — Basle  Program 

At  the  first  Congress  there  was  adopted  the  Basle  Program,  which 
has  since  remained  the  official  expression  of  Zionist  aims,  and  which 
was  made  the  basis  of  the  British  and  other  Allied  declarations  in  sup- 
port of  Zionism : 

THE  BASLE  PROGRAM 

The  aim  of  Zionism  is  to  create  for  the  Jewish  people  a  publicly 
recognized  and  legally  secured  home  in  Palestine. 

To  realize  this  aim,  the  Congress  proposed  the  following  meas- 
ures : 

1.  To  promote  through   effective  means  the  settlement  of 

Palestine  by  Jewish  agriculturists,  artisans,  and  trades- 
men. 

2.  To  organize  and  unify  the  whole  Jewish  people  by  means 

of  local  and  general  institutions  suitable  for  the  purpose 
and  conforming  with  the  laws  of  the  respective  coun- 
tries. 

3.  To  strengthen  and  augment  Jewish  self-consciousness  in 

the  individual  and  in  the  community. 

4.  To  take  the  proper  preliminary  steps  towards  securing  the 

concurrence  of  the  Powers,  insofar  as  their  assent  may  be 
necessary  for  the  attainment  of  the  Zionist  goal. 

59 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

At  the  first  Congress  an  overwhelming  enthusiasm  was  com- 
bined with  effective  organization.  Already  then  the  idea  of  the  Na- 
tional Fund  was  suggested  by  its  founder,  Dr.  Hermann  Schapira. 

The  Second  Congress 

At  the  second  Congress,  held  in  Basle,  August,  1898,  the  religion- 
ists asserted  themselves,  and  with  the  co-operation  of  Dr.  Max  Nordau 
— rationalist — and  of  Theodor  Herzl,  who  pleaded  for  a  return  to 
Judaism  before  the  return  to  Palestine,  there  was  passed  a  resolution 
that  Zionism  shall  do  nothing  opposed  to  Judaism.  In  later  years 
(1903)  this  tendency  was  crystallized  in  the  Mizrahi  or  Orthodox  party. 

The  Third,  Fourth,  and  Fifth  Congresses 

The  third  Congress  was  held  in  Basle,  August,  1899,  the  fourth  in 
London,  August,  1900.  England  had  always  been  friendly  to  Zionism, 
and  in  the  previous  year  the  Zionist  Bank,  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust, 
had  been  established  in  London.  The  Jewish  National  Fund,  founded 
in  1901,  was  also  under  English  registry.  (See  Ch.  XL)  At  the  fifth 
Congress  in  Basle,  December,  1901,  the  Democratic  Fraktion,  which 
was  the  first  attempt  on  the  part  of  political  radicals  to  form  a  party 
within  Zionism,  definitely  asserted  itself.  The  Congress  has  always 
had  all  the  factionalism  and  strife  that  one  usually  finds  in  democratic 
national  assemblies.  Even  Herzl,  though  followed  with  devotion,  was 
still  not  spared.  All  languages  as  well  as  all  lands  are  represented, 
and  the  Hebrew  language  has  played  a  large  and  increasing  part  in 
the  proceedings.  Every  phase  of  Judaism  is  also  represented,  for 
within  the  Zionist  movement  there  is  as  much  variety  of  faith  and  ob- 
servance as  without.  It  was  inevitable  that  the  Mizrahi  (Orthodox) 
and  the  Poale  Zion  (Socialist)  parties  should  have  developed.  (See 
Ch.  XV.) 

The  Sixth  Congress — Uganda 

The  sixth  Congress,  Basle,  August,  1903,  the  last  which  Herzl  at- 
tended, was  faced  with  unusual  problems  and  difficulties.  During  the 
previous  year  the  British  Government  had  offered  El-Arish  in  Egypt, 
on  the  Sinai  peninsula  south  of  Palestine,  to  the  Zionists  to  be  colon- 
ized by  Jews.  This  was  near  enough  to  Palestine  to  fit  into  the  Zion- 
ist policy  of  colonizing  neighboring  lands.  Herzl,  as  diplomat  more 
than  as  scientist,  insisted  on  immediate  investigation,  despite  certain 
scientific  obstacles.  The  consequence  was  that  the  too  hastily  ar- 
ranged expedition  lacked  the  proper  men  and  equipment,  and  failed  to 

60 


THE   INTERNATIONAL   ZIONIST   ORGANIZATION 

get  results.  Meanwhile  the  Egyptian  Government  objected,  and  Eng- 
land was  forced  to  withdraw  the  offer  on  the  ground  that  the  neces- 
sary water  from  the  Nile  could  not  be  spared  for  irrigation. 

England  then  offered  Uganda,  in  East  Africa,  to  Herzl.  This 
could  in  no  way  be  called  a  neighboring  land.  However,  out  of  re- 
spect for  the  British  Government,  and  in  fairness  to  himself  and  to  the 
delegates,  Herzl  presented  this  offer  to  the  sixth  Congress.  It  precipi- 
tated a  storm  that  finally  split  the  Zionist  Organization.  Some  of  the 
Politicals  (see  Ch.  XV),  the  Socialists,  but  chiefly  the  opportunists, 
repudiating  all  sentiment,  were  for  acceptance.  The  Hoveve  Zion 
and  practically  all  the  Russian  Jews  were  bitterly  against  it.  They 
called  it  treason  to  the  Zionist  ideal.  Max  Nordau  made  an  impressive 
speech  in  which  he  called  Uganda  a  Nachtasyl — a  shelter  for  the 
night — and  explained  that  it  would  in  no  way  interfere  with  acquiring 
Palestine  whenever  that  were  possible.  Herzl,  himself,  felt  the  need 
of  a  temporary  refuge  for  the  driven  Russian  Jews.  But  these  suf- 
fering Russian  Jewish  idealists,  the  Zione  Zion,  were  the  very  ones 
who  would  have  only  Palestine,  at  any  cost.  Without  pre-arrange- 
ment,  and  many  of  them  in  tears,  they  left  the  Congress  in  a  body. 
Herzl  followed  them,  and  spent  the  whole  night  arguing  and  pleading 
with  them,  until  he  convinced  them  that  he  also  was  a  lover  of  Pales- 
tine, and  that  he  had  in  no  way  deserted  the  Basle  Program. 

The  Seventh  Congress— The  I.  T.  O. 

It  was  voted  at  this  Congress  to  send  a  commission  to  explore 
Uganda.  Before  the  next  Congress  the  commission  had  returned  to 
report  that  land  unfit  for  colonization.  Meanwhile,  Herzl  had  died. 
The  inherent  strength  of  the  Zionist  movement  and  its  deep-rooting  in 
the  Jewish  folk-soul  are  proved  by  the  fact  that  it  withstood  not  only 
the  calamity  of  Herzl's  death  at  so  crucial  a  moment,  but  also  the 
break  in  Zionist  ranks  that  followed  the  next  Congress,  and  that  took 
with  it  some  of  the  most  prominent  workers.  The  failure  of  the 
Uganda  project,  and  the  bitter  controversies  that  preceded  and  fol- 
lowed it,  caused  the  secession  from  Zionism  of  Israel  Zangwill  and 
those  others  who  believed  in  abandoning  the  idea  of  Palestine  for 
some  other  land.  Many  of  the  radical  Zionists,  disclaiming  all  senti- 
ment, went  with  them.  They  organized  as  the  I.  T.  O.,  the  Jewish 
Territorial  Organization,  and  their  varied  but  fruitless  activities  since 
then  form  an  interesting  page  in  Jewish  history,  but  one  that  cannot 
be  studied  here  for  lack  of  space.  Recently  they  have  returned  into 
the  Zionist  fold.     Their  world-wide  search  for  a  territory  has  proved 

61 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

that  for  quite  other  than  sentimental  reasons,  Palestine  is  the  only 
territory  available  for  the  Jewish  Commonwealth.  And  when  with  the 
end  of  Turkish  misrule  one  of  the  chief  obstacles  was  removed,  and 
when  British  sympathy  proved  an  added  safeguard,  the  Territorialists 
were  constrained  to  renew  their  Zionist  allegiance. 

Eighth  and  Ninth  Congresses 

The  eighth  Congress  was  held  in  the  Hague,  August,  1907.  At 
the  ninth  Congress,  Hamburg,  December,  1909,  the  Poale  Zion  were 
recognized  and  some  of  their  theories  adopted. 

The  Tenth  Congress — Politicals  and  Practicals 

During  the  next  five  years  the  chief  issue  in  Zionism  was  one 
which  by  the  light  of  later  events  proved  a  futile  struggle,  that  be- 
tween the  Political  Zionists — the  Herzlians — who  believed  that  the 
settlement  of  Palestine  must  be  preceded  by  national  rights  secured  in 
the  name  of  the  Jewish  people,  and  the  Practical  Zionists — heirs  of  the 
Hoveve  Zion  movement — who  put  their  trust  in  colonization,  be- 
lieving that  guarantees  would  follow  settlement.  Each  faction  ex- 
pressed a  distinct  need  and  obligation  of  the  Zionists,  the  Practicals 
stressing  the  necessity  to  strengthen  and  support  the  actual  center  in 
Palestine,  and  the  Politicals  the  need  for  firmer  organization  in  the 
Diaspora,  and  for  recognition  from  the  world.  David  Wolffsohn  suc- 
ceeded Herzl  as  chairman  of  the  Inner  Actions  Committee.  But  at  the 
tenth  Congress,  Basle,  August,  1911,  he  forfeited  his  place  as  its  chair- 
man because  of  his  staunch  support  of  Political  Zionism,  which  in- 
deed, he  defended,  as  a  member  of  the  Committee,  until  his  death  in  1914. 
Professor  Otto  Warburg  succeeded  him.  At  this  Congress  for  the 
first  time  the  Mizrahi  protested  against  the  support  of  any  but  strictly 
Orthodox  schools  in  Palestine. 

The  Eleventh  Congress 

The  Practicals  were  now  in  power,  and  continued  to  be  so  at  the 
eleventh  Congress,  Vienna,  September,  1913,  where  there  was  a  sharp 
controversy  as  to  the  control  of  the  financial  institutions.  David 
Wolffsohn,  by  an  extraordinary  effort,  kept  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
Politicals.  Less  than  a  year  later  the  European  War  broke  out;  since 
then  no  Congress  has  been  held.  The  division  along  practical  and 
political  lines  has  been  swept  away  by  the  torrent  of  practical  and 
political  events.  It  is  now  seen  that  all  Zionists  must  combine  in 
everything  if  we  are  worthily  to  meet  the  coming  restoration. 

62 


THE   INTERNATIONAL   ZIONIST   ORGANIZATION 

Since  the  outbreak  of  the  war  the  Inner  Actions  Committee  has  been 
scattered.  As  the  Allies  made  Zionism  part  of  their  program,  the  cen- 
ter of  Zionist  activity  shifted  from  Germany  to  England  and  America. 
The  East  European  countries  were  too  exhausted  to  lift  the  yoke.  Yet, 
Zionism  has  spread  in  all  countries.  The  number  of  shekel  payers  before 
the  war  (200,000)  must  have  been  much  augmented,  as  evidenced  in 
America  alone.  (See  Ch.  XIV.)  For  Europe,  figures  are  not  now 
available.  With  the  Peace  Conference,  all  Zionist  expectation  cen- 
tered in  Paris,  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  International  Zionist  Organiza- 
tion may  soon  make  its  headquarters  in  Palestine. 

References: 

Zionism,   its   Organization   and   Institutions,   by   S.    Landmann.      Zionism,   by 
Richard  Qottheil. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

An  analysis  of  the  Basle  program.     The  Jewish  Territorial  Organization. 


09 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE    JEWISH    NATIONAL    FUND    AND    THE    JEWISH    COLONIAL 

TRUST  * 

Land  Laws  in  Palestine 

The  land  laws  and  the  credit  system  of  Palestine,  during  the  Turk- 
ish regime,  followed  the  course,  usual  in  semi-civilized  countries. 
Private  ownership  in  land  had  not  been  developed  in  the  form  known 
and  recognized  in  English  and  American  law.  Under  Turkish  law  no 
plot  of  ground  could  be  left  vacant  for  more  than  three  years;  after 
that  time  it  might  be  taken  up  for  settlement  by  any  "squatter".  In- 
deed, it  was  not  safe  to  permit  any  piece  of  land  to  lie  uncultivated  for 
more  than  a  year,  under  the  penalty  of  having  it  appropriated  by  any 
wandering  Bedouin  tribe,  and  the  legal  process  of  ejectment  had  not 
been  developed  to  an  extent  sufficient  to  protect  the  holder  of  the 
title.  We  might  say  that  under  Turkish  rule  possession  and  cultiva- 
tion of  the  land  were  prerequisites  to  ownership,  and  anyone  who  ac- 
quired the  title  through  purchase  could  maintain  it  only  by  occupying 
and  working  the  land.  This  did  not  preclude  absentee  landlordism, 
which  is  very  common  and  very  oppressive  among  the  Arabs. 

Organization  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund 

The  Jewish  National  Fund  was  organized  in  December,  1901,  for 
the  purpose  of  acquiring  land  in  Palestine  as  the  inalienable  estate  of 
the  Jewish  people.  It  had  first  been  suggested  by  Dr.  Hermann 
Schapira,  as  early  as  the  second  Congress  in  1898.  It  derives  its  funds 
as  free-will  offerings  from  Jews.  Although  it  thus  partakes  of  the  na- 
ture of  philanthropy,  it  is  not  a  charitable  institution,  for  it  does  not 
pretend  to  alleviate  present-day  suffering  nor  to  relieve  present-day 
poverty.  On  the  contrary,  it  aims  to  develop  a  Jewish  national  estate 
which  will  help  to  eliminate  poverty  in  the  future  Jewish  common- 
wealth. The  Jewish  National  Fund,  organized  under  the  laws  of  Great 
Britain  as  an  association  or  corporation,  has  no  shares  of  stock.  Its 
charter  sets  forth  that  the  Jewish  National  Fund  shall  purchase  lands 
and  other  immovable  property  in  Palestine  and  adjacent  territory,  "for 

*  By  Bernard  A.  Rosenblatt. 

64 


THE   JEWISH    NATIONAL    FUND 

the  purpose  of  settling  Jews  on  such  lands",  and  it  further  provides 
that  nothing  "shall  enable  the  association  to  divest  itself  of  the  para- 
mount ownership  of  any  of  the  soil  of  the  prescribed  region  which  it 
may  from  time  to  time  acquire."  At  the  time  of  its  establishment,  it 
was  intended  that  the  National  Fund  should  not  begin  to  purchase 
land  until  its  capital  should  amount  to  5,000,000  francs.  But  already 
at  the  sixth  Zionist  Congress,  Basle,  1903,  there  was  urged  the  neces- 
sity of  the  immediate  purchase  of  land.  Therefore  it  was  resolved  and 
laid  down  by  the  statute  that  one-fourth  of  the  capital  of  the  National 
Fund  must  remain  an  inviolable  reserve.  The  reserve  was  looked  upon 
as  a  possible  instrument  for  political  action.  The  association  is  con- 
trolled by  members  who  are  at  the  same  time  the  owners  of  record  of 
the  Founders'  shares  of  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust,  so  that  the  two 
main  financial  institutions  of  the  Zionist  Organization  are  not  only  in- 
terrelated but  are  controlled  from  the  same  source.  In  order  to  insure 
its  Zionist  character  beyond  question,  the  directors  of  the  Jewish 
National  Fund  are  themselves  limited  in  all  important  activities  by  the 
resolutions  of  a  "controlling  committee",  which  consists  of  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Inner  Actions  Committee,  as  elected  by  the  Zionist  Congress. 
Thus  the  ultimate  control  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund  is  vested  in 
the  Zionist  Organization,  the  National  Fund  being  virtually  the  Land 
Division  or  Department  of  Interior  of  the  Zionist  Government. 

Means  of  Collection  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund 

The  Jewish  National  Fund  has  offices  in  practically  every  civil- 
ized country,  i.  e.,  wherever  Jews  reside.  Collections  are  made 
through  Jewish  National  Fund  boxes,  which  are  placed  in  the  homes 
of  Zionists;  through  Jewish  National  Fund  stamps,  used  on  letters, 
invitations,  cards  for  New  Year's  greetings,  etc. ;  by  means  of  a  Golden 
Book,  where  for  $100  may  be  inscribed  the  names  of  those  we  "delight 
to  honor",  and  in  numerous  other  ways.  In  various  countries,  the 
Jewish  National  Fund  has  instituted  a  "Flower  Day"  at  Shabuot  time, 
and  a  "Flag  Day"  in  the  Hanukkah  season.  The  most  desirable  means 
of  collection  would  seem  to  be  a  stated  yearly  self-taxation  of  indi- 
viduals. 

The  following  quotation  from  a  statement  issued  by  the  Jewish 
National  Fund  in  1911  shows  some  of  the  other  methods  of  collection 
that  have  become  popular  during  the  last  few  years : 

"The  Olive  Tree  (or  Fruit  Tree)  Fund  enjoys  considerable  popu- 
larity. The  olive  trees  contribute  towards  the  afforestation  of  Pales- 
tine; they  already  provide  many  Jewish  families  with  employment, 

65 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

and  they  are  destined  later,  out  of  the  sale  of  their  fruits,  to  supply 
the  means  of  maintaining  Jewish  educational  institutions.  A  donation 
of  six  shillings  {\y2  dollars)  enables  anybody  to  have  a  tree  planted 
and  registered  in  the  name  of  any  person  desired  by  the  donor. 

"The  Land  Donations  Fund  is  intended  to  give  every  Jew  the  op- 
portunity of  purchasing  a  dunam  (a  quarter  acre)  of  land  in  Palestine 
in  his  own  name  and  presenting  it  to  the  National  Fund.  The  price  of  a 
dunam  is  two  pounds  (10  dollars).  Every  donor  will  have  his  name 
entered  into  a  special  land  register  and  receive  an  artistic  certificate.  The 
land  acquired  by  means  of  these  donations  will  be  devoted  exclusively 
to  settlement  by  Jewish  agricultural  laborers." 

Achievements  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund 

In  the  same  statement  we  find  a  resume  of  the  achievements  of 
the  Jewish  National  Fund  before  the  war: 

"The  Promotion  of  Agricultural  Colonization 

"The  Jewish  National  Fund  owns  a  large  estate  of  about  6,000 
dunam  of  fruitful  land  in  the  region  where  the  Jordan  flows  into  the 
Sea"  of  Tiberias.  Upon  this  estate  the  Palestine  Land  Development 
Company,  founded  and  conducted  under  Zionist  auspices,  has  erected 
a  model  farm,  Kineret,  where  a  number  of  Jewish  laborers  find  remun- 
erative employment  and  receive  a  thorough  training  as  farmers. 

"On  the  land  bordering  on  the  railway-line  from  Jerusalem  to  Jaffa 
the  J.  N.  F.  possesses  two  plots,  Huldah  and  Ben-Schamen,  upon 
which  olive  groves  are  planted. 

"In  the  Jewish  colony,  Hederah,  the  J.  N.  F.  possesses  a  garden, 
Gan-Schmuel  (Garden  of  Samuel),  in  which  oranges  and  citrons  are 
grown. 

"Upon  another  estate  of  the  J.  N.  F.  a  large  workmen's  colony,  in 
the  form  of  a  co-operative  settlement,  in  accordance  with  the  proposals 
of  the  well  known  economist,  Dr.  Franz  Oppenheimer,  has  been  es- 
tablished with  the  aid  of  a  special  fund.  .  . 

"The  Promotion  of  Rural  and  Urban  Settlements 

"To  raise  the  prestige  of  the  Jews  in  Palestine  and  to  improve  the 
hygienic  conditions  of  their  dwellings,  the  J.  N.  F.  has  granted  Jewish 
building  societies  loans  amounting  to  a  total  of  300,000  francs.  By 
means  of  these  loans  the  beautiful  Jewish  quarter  Tel  Aviv  in  Jaffa, 
and  the  district  of  Herzlia  in  Haifa,  have  been  brought  into  existence. 

"Through  the  agency  of  the  Jewish  Bank  in  Palestine,  the  Anglo- 
Palestine  Company,  the  J.  N.  F.  has  granted  to  agricultural  co-operative 
societies  in  the  Jewish  colonies  long  term  credits,  amounting  to  a  total 
of  220,000  francs. 


THE   JEWISH    NATIONAL    FUND 

"It  has  also  granted  long-term  credits  to  the  workmen's  colony, 
Ain  Ganim  (near  Petah  Tikvah),  and  to  the  farm-laborers'  society  of 
Umdjuni. 

"The  J.  N.  F.  has  built  workmen's  dwellings  at  a  cost  of  35,000 
francs  to  facilitate  the  settlement  of  Jewish  laborers  in  the  Palestinian 
colonies." 

By  providing  workmen's  dwellings,  the  J.  N.  F.  has  greatly 
facilitated  the  migration  of  the  hard  pressed  Yemenite  Jews  from 
Arabia,  whose  labors  have  proved  invaluable. 

Since  its  organization,  the  Jewish  National  Fund  has  collected 
over  $2,000,000. 

Ideals  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund 

The  Jewish  National  Fund  stands  for  the  ideal  of  national  owner- 
ship of  the  land  of  Palestine.  However  meagre  the  results  to-day  as 
compared  with  the  great  program  before  us,  the  Jewish  National  Fund 
has  shown  the  path.  It  has  now  adopted  the  principle  of  "Heredi- 
tary Lease",  whereby  it  leases  its  land  to  individuals  under  contracts 
which  permit  the  land  to  pass  to  children  and  other  heirs,  but  under 
the  terms  of  which  the  occupant  must  pay  increased  rent  as  the  land 
becomes  more  valuable  through  the  increase  in  population  and  social 
development.  In  the  contract  for  the  hereditary  lease,  provision  is 
made  for  periodical  assessments  of  the  value  of  such  lands.  This  se- 
cures continuity  of  possession  for  the  settler,  whereas  he  shares  the 
advantages  with  the  whole  people  whenever  the  land  increases  in 
value.  Perhaps  the  most  important  work  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund 
in  the  future  will  be  to  obtain  possession  and  control  over  strategic 
plots  of  land  in  Palestine,  regions  that  are  essential  for  the  future  prog- 
ress and  prosperity  of  the  Jewish  State,  such  as  ports,  plots  of  ground 
near  railroad  terminals,  water  power  sites,  and  choice  agricultural 
tracts.  It  is  improbable  that  the  Jewish  National  Fund  will  be  able 
to  secure  possession  of  all  the  lands  in  Palestine,  but  if  it  should  secure 
the  valuable  plots  that  are  indispensable  to  national  safety  and  pros- 
perity, it  would  form  the  basis  for  a  commonwealth  of  social  justice  in 
the  land  of  our  forefathers. 

Credit  in  Palestine 

Credit  in  Palestine  under  Turkish  rule  differed  as  much  from  the 
system  of  credit,  as  we  know  it,  as  its  land  tenure  differed  from  Eng- 
lish and  American  practice.  The  ordinary  basis  of  credit  is  the  sol- 
vency of  the  debtor  and  the  creditor's  ability  to  utilize  available  police 

67 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

forces  as  his  collectors.  Thus  there  were  numerous  instances  in  Turk- 
ish Palestine  of  the  creditor,  with  the  help  of  the  military  forces,  carry- 
ing off  the  cattle  of  the  debtor  who  could  not  pay ;  the  creditor  mean- 
while taking  good  care  that  interest,  compounded,  be  charged  on  the 
debt. 

The  Organization  of  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust 

It  was  the  necessity  to  cope  with  this  situation  as  well  as  with 
the  problem  of  Jewish  immigration  into  Palestine,  as  Herzl  foresaw  it, 
that  prompted  the  organization  of  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust  in 
March,  1899,  as  an  English  joint  stock  company.  The  Jewish  Colonial 
Trust  Ltd.  was  incorporated  in  London,  England.  It  was  ready  to  begin 
business  by  the  end  of  1901.  It  was  organized  as  the  financial 
bulwark  of  the  Zionist  Organization,  and  Herzl  intended  that  it  should 
be  the  chief  instrument  in  the  peaceful  conquest  of  Palestine.  In 
order  to  insure  democratic  ownership,  shares  were  issued  of  only  one 
pound  (approximately  $5.00)  each.  Very  soon  it  succeeded  in  en- 
listing thousands  of  stockholders  scattered  far  and  wide,  from  the 
remote  villages  of  Siberia  to  the  frontier  towns  of  the  western  states 
of  America.  It  has  been  estimated  that  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust 
has  over  100,000  individual  stockholders,  and  no  corporation  in  the 
United  States,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Co.,  has  as  many  individual  holders  of  its  shares  of  stock  as  the  Jewish 
Colonial  Trust.  In  Russia  there  are  many  small  towns  where  no 
single  individual  can  afford  to  purchase  a  share,  so  that  groups  of 
Jews  organize  themselves  into  societies  for  the  purpose  of  buying 
one  or  more  shares  of  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust. 

The  Anglo-Palestine  Company 

At  the  present  time  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust  has  a  paid-in  capital 
of  nearly  $1,500,000.  This  falls  short  of  the  $10,000,000  which  Dr. 
Herzl  expected  to  raise  in  a  few  years,  and  yet  it  has  proven  of  extraor- 
dinary value  to  the  Zionist  movement.  Through  its  subsidiary  bank, 
the  Anglo-Palestine  Co.  in  Jaffa,  Palestine,  with  branches  in  Jerusalem, 
Haifa,  Hebron,  Gaza,  Beirut,  Safed  and  Tiberias,  the  Trust  has  been 
able  to  raise  the  level  of  the  whole  industrial  life  of  Palestine.  Through 
the  introduction  of  the  modern  conception  of  credit,  whereby  the 
debtor's  responsibility  does  not  rest  upon  the  possible  coercive  power 
of  the  state,  but  almost  exclusively  upon  his  character  and  his  financial 
strength,  Palestine  has  been  prepared  for  important  industrial  develop- 
ment.   The  Anglo-Palestine  Company  has  been  largely  instrumental 

68 


THE   JEWISH    COLONIAL   TRUST 

in  the  fostering  of  credit  unions  and  co-operative  societies,  whereby 
the  obligation  of  the  individual  is  guaranteed  by  the  endorsement  of 
a  group  of  his  friends  and  neighbors.  This  is  one  of  the  most  signi- 
ficant by-products  of  the  activities  of  the  Anglo-Palestine  Company, 
for  it  has  given  impetus  to  forms  of  co-operation  which  should  prove 
invaluable  in  the  future.  On  the  one  hand,  the  Anglo  Palestine  Com- 
pany promotes  the  organization  of  owners  of  plantations  into  co-opera- 
tive groups  whereby  the  individual  member,  by  receiving  the  endorse- 
ment of  the  other  members  of  his  group,  may  receive  larger  credit 
facilities  from  the  bank.  On  the  other  hand,  the  endorsers,  who  are 
also  his  neighbors,  will  naturally  see  to  it  that  the  money  so  loaned 
to  him  is  properly  used.  The  bank  also  encourages  the  growth  of 
workmen's  unions  and  circles,  so  that  even  the  poorest  laborer, 
through  the  aid  of  the  guarantee  of  his  friends,  may  receive  financial 
help  from  the  bank.  It  is  obvious  that  such  a  system  encourages  the 
growth  of  a  spirit  of  co-operation  and  brotherhood  which  passes  far 
beyond  the  ordinary  field  of  banking. 

The  War  and  the  Bank 

During  the  war  the  bank  in  Palestine  has  had  to  weather  the 
storm  caused  by  the  financial  breakdown  of  Turkey.  There  was  prac- 
tically a  continuous  moratorium  and  Turkish  money  fell  to  an 
extremely  low  level.  However,  so  strong  was  the  credit  of  the  bank 
that  it  was  able  to  issue  its  own  checks,  which  to  all  intents  and 
purposes  passed  as  currency  during  the  war.  In  this  way  the  Jewish 
Colonial  Trust  and  its  subordinate  company,  the  Anglo-Palestine 
Bank,  enabled  the  Jewish  farmers  to  tide  over  the  dangerous  period 
after  1914,  when  to  the  horrors  of  war  were  added  the  ravages  of  the 
locust.  It  is  certain  that  in  the  future  industrial  development  of 
Palestine,  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust  and  its  branches  will  play  a  signi- 
ficant role. 

Furthermore,  the  manner  of  organization  of  the  Jewish  Colonial 
Trust  gives  it  the  opportunity  to  become  ultimately  the  State  Bank 
of  the  Jewish  Commonwealth  in  Palestine.  The  capital  of  the  com- 
pany consists  of  two  million  shares  of  one  pound  (approximately 
$5.00)  each,  of  which  however  the  first  hundred  are  classified  as 
"Founders'  Shares"  and  are  held  by  trustees  who  are  responsible  to 
the  Zionist  Organization  of  the  world.  These  hundred  "Founders' 
Shares"  have  as  much  voting  power  as  all  the  other  shares,  so  that 
virtually  the  bank  is  controlled  (in  everything  but  the  declaration  of 
dividends)  by  the  trustees  who  act  for  the  world  Zionist  Organization. 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

With  the  establishment  of  the  Jewish  Commonwealth  in  Palestine, 
its  government  will  be  the  natural  successor  to  the  Zionist  Organiza- 
tion, since  Zionism  will  have  achieved  its  aim.  Thus  the  control  of 
the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust  would  pass  from  its  trustees  to  the  Jewish 
Commonwealth,  i.  e.,  the  Trust  would  become  the  State  Bank,  main- 
taining its  office  in  London,  supplemented  by  the  branches  in  Palestine. 
It  can  become  the  great  medium  not  only  for  economic  intercourse 
between  Great  Britain  and  the  Jewish  Commonwealth,  but  also  for 
financial  and  political  relations  between  Great  Britain,  the  "trustee," 
and  the  Government  of  Palestine.  Thus  would  be  realized  the  dream 
of  Herzl  in  establishing  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust  as  the  State  Bank 
of  the  Jewish  Commonwealth. 

References: 

The  Work  and  Problems  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund,  by  Leo  Dana.  The  Jeivish 
National  Fund,  by  J.  D.  Jacobs.  Land  Tenure  in  Palestine,  by  Jacob  Ettinger 
and  Franz  Oppenheimer.     The  Yemenite  Jews,  by  J.  Feldman. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  Yemenite  Jews  in  Palestine.     Rural  credit  in  Palestine. 


70 


CHAPTER  XII 
ZIONISM    IN    AMERICA    BEFORE    THE    WORLD    WAR 

The  First  American  Zionists 

The  same  cause — Russian  persecution  of  the  Jews — that  stimu- 
lated the  first  few  societies  for  the  colonization  of  Palestine,  sent  a 
huge  wave  of  Jewish  immigration  from  Eastern  Europe  into  the 
United  States.  This  migration  carried  with  it  Zionist  forces.  But 
even  before  that  the  Zionist  idea  had  appeared  spontaneously  in 
America.  It  seems  that  Zionism  grows  naturally  in  the  atmosphere 
of  freedom ;  hence  its  early  American  manifestations.  Mordecai 
Manuel  Noah  (1785-1851),  member  of  a  prominent  old  American 
family  of  Portuguese  Jews,  diplomat,  journalist,  and  publicist,  was 
the  first  American  Zionist.  In  1824  he  said:  "We  will  return  to 
Zion  as  we  went  forth,  bringing  back  the  faith  we  carried  away  with 
us."  As  a  first  step  toward  Jewish  concentration  in  an  agricultural 
settlement  and  under  autonomous  government,  he  purchased  Grand 
Island  near  Buffalo,  New  York,  where  he  hoped  to  create  a  small 
Jewish  Commonwealth,  a  sort  of  Nachtasyl,  with  himself  as  first 
Judge.  The  romantic  scheme,  inaugurated  with  ceremony  and  pomp, 
was  a  complete  failure.  But  even  that  dream  had  its  value  and  its 
significance.  Every  early  manifestation  of  an  idea,  however  erratic, 
has  at  least  prophetic  value.  Warder  Cresson,  a  Christian  contem- 
porary of  Noah  (1798-1860),  became  deeply  interested  in  Judaism  and 
its  organic  expression,  the  Zionist  ideal,  and  had  himself  sent  to  Jeru- 
salem as  the  first  American  consul.  There  he  turned  Jewish,  adopting 
the  name  of  Michael  Boaz  Israel.  He  advocated  agricultural  settle- 
ment of  Jews  in  Palestine  as  a  first  step  toward  renationalization.  His 
practical  attempt  to  start  a  Jewish  village  settlement  did  not  succeed. 
It  came  before  its  time. 

The  first  wave  of  Russian  Jewish  immigration,  the  tragic  after- 
math of  pogroms,  deeply  stirred  another  Portuguese  Jew,  the  poet 
Emma  Lazarus  of  New  York  (1849-1887)  ;  and  despite  her  surround- 
ings and  associations  of  ease  and  culture,  far  removed  from  all  Jewish 
associations,  she  identified  herself  with  the  tragedy  and  the  hope  of  her 
people.  Her  later  poems  are  a  rallying-cry  for  the  dispersed  of  Israel, 
full  of  authentic  vision  of  Israel  restored  to  his  land.    She  did  not  live 

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GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

to  see  the  Zionist  movement  develop  in  America.  But  her  older  sister, 
Josephine,  became  a  staunch  supporter  of  the  Zionist  cause,  in  whose 
service  she  spoke  and  wrote. 

Hoveve  Zion  in  America 

Hoveve  Zion  societies  were  organized  in  America,  notably  in  New 
York  and  Baltimore,  almost  as  early  as  in  Russia,  the  stronghold 
of  Zionism.  Towards  1890,  a  Jewish  colonization  society,  Shove 
Zion,  was  organized  in  the  United  States,  with  headquarters  in  New 
York  and  members  all  over  the  country.  The  money  collected  for 
land  purchase  for  the  members  reached  a  considerable  sum,  and  an 
emissary  was  sent  to  Palestine  to  procure  land.  Reaching  there  at 
the  most  critical  period  of  Jewish  colonization  (see  Ch.  XXIV),  he 
was  unable  to  make  a  purchase.  He  came  back  with  funds  greatly 
reduced,  which  were  returned,  minus  the  fruitless  expenses,  to  the 
contributors.  This  failure  did  not  prevent  the  formation  of  a  Shove 
Zion,  No.  2,  with  even  more  disastrous  results.  The  smaller  sums 
collected  were  dissipated  in  the  mere  negotiations  to  buy  land.* 

But  despite  these  disconcerting  failures,  the  spirit  persisted.  It 
manifested  itself  in  Hebrew-speaking  clubs  and  in  groups  of  Zionists 
scattered  all  over  the  country. 

Early  Organization  of  American  Zionism 

Immediately  after  the  first  Zionist  Congress,  in  1897,  the  Zionists 
in  America  came  in  direct  touch  with  Dr.  Herzl,  and  organized  the 
Federation  of  American  Zionists.  Dr.  Gustav  Gottheil  and  his  son, 
Dr.  Richard  Gottheil,  were  the  first  to  act.  An  article  in  The  Jeivish 
Chronicle  of  London,  whose  editor,  J.  L.  Greenberg,  had  ever  been 
at  the  service  of  Dr.  Herzl,  vividly  described  the  Congress.  Dr. 
Richard  Gottheil  was  stirred  to  call  a  conference  of  New  Yorkers. 
He  became  the  first  president  of  the  American  Federation,  with  Dr. 
Stephen  S.  Wise  as  its  first  secretary.  An  effort  was  made  to  organize 
societies  throughout  the  United  States.  Israel  Wolf,  as  representative 
of  a  Yiddish  newspaper  in  New  York,  traveled  all  over  the  country, 
and  this  gave  him  the  opportunity,  between  1898  and  1900,  to  organize 
fifty-two  Zionist  societies,  in  Louisiana,  Minnesota,  North  Dakota, 
Tennessee,  Texas,  and  other  Western  and  Southern  states,  as  well  as  in 
Canada.  But  their  organization  was  precariously  weak.  The  Shove 
Zion  failures  made  it  difficult  to  raise  money;  the  members  paid  yearly 
dues  of  only  $1.00,  which  was  not  enough  to  enable  the  Organization 
in  New  York  to  keep  in  close  touch  with  its  societies.  Hence  societies 
died  almost  as  soon  as  born,  and  had  to  be  reorganized  each  year. 

72 


ZIONISM  IN  AMERICA 

Gradually  the  Organization  was  strengthened.  Persistent  and  devoted 
service  overcame  all  inner  and  outer  handicaps.  When  the  Jewish 
Colonial  Trust  was  organized,  (see  Ch.  XI),  Dr.  Gottheil  could  find 
no  banker  to  handle  the  shares,  and  for  a  while  he  had  practically  to 
go  into  the  banking  business.  With  two  or  three  exceptions,  the 
wealthy  Jews  of  America  would  have  nothing  to  do  with  the  bank 
shares  or  with  Zionism  in  any  shape  or  form.  But  among  the  poor 
immigrants  there  was  a  mighty  response.  Letters  came  from  all  over 
the  country  from  persons  asking  to  invest  in  the  bank  shares,  and 
though  these  cost  only  $5.00,  they  usually  had  to  be  paid  for  in  install- 
ments. After  a  time,  the  East  Side  banker,  S.  Jarmulowsky,  took  over 
the  management  of  the  Zionist  Bank's  affairs  for  America. 

The  Zionist  Organs 

Cleveland  had  a  Yiddish  Zionist  paper,  The  Jezvish  Star,  as 
early  as  1894.  In  1900,  The  Maccabaean  Magazine,  the  official 
organ  of  American  Zionism,  was  founded,  with  Dr.  Gottheil  as  its  first 
editor.  Later  the  editorship  was  taken  over  by  Louis  Lipsky,  who, 
throughout  the  years  when,  as  Chairman  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists  he  carried  the  chief  burden 
of  Zionist  work  in  America,  kept  up  an  interest  in  the  magazine  and 
continued  to  write  its  editorials.  Dos  Yiddishe  Folk,  the  Yiddish 
organ  of  the  movement  in  America,  was  founded  by  Senior  Abel  in 
1909. 

Types  of  Membership  and  Societies 

New  York  and  Baltimore  were  the  two  strongholds  of  early 
American  Zionism,  not  only  in  membership  but  in  leadership.  Dr. 
Harry  Friedenwald,  of  Baltimore,  was  for  many  years  President  of 
the  Federation;  and  Miss  Henrietta  Szold,  daughter  of  the  Baltimore 
Rabbi,  was  one  of  the  first  in  America  to  speak  and  work  for  Zionism, 
and  did  yeoman's  service  in  New  York,  where  for  a  while  she  carried 
the  secretaryship  of  the  Organization.  Herzl  took  a  deep  interest  in 
American  Zionism,  and  it  was  in  1902  that,  due  to  his  urging,  Jacob 
deHaas  was  sent  for  from  England  to  serve  as  secretary  in  New  York. 
The  offices  were  then  at  320  Broadway,  but  later  they  were  moved 
to  East  Broadway  and  then  to  Henry  Street,  to  be  in  the  heart  of  the 
Jewish  section.  In  New  York,  especially,  Zionism  was  a  folk  move- 
ment which  made  its  appeal  to  the  East  Side  masses. 

Even  before  the  Federation  was  fully  organized,  there  had  already 
been  organized  by  Leon  Zolotkoff  in  Chicago  the  Order  Knights  of 

73 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Zion,  a  Zionist  organization  which  controlled  all  Zionist  activities 
throughout  the  Middle  West,  and  which  was  proposed  to  have  some  of 
the  features  of  a  fraternal  order. 

The  first  Convention  of  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists  was 
held  in  New  York  in  1898,  and  since  then  a  Convention  has  been  held 
annually.  A  couple  of  years  later  an  arrangement  was  made  where- 
by the  Order  Knights  of  Zion  was  affiliated  with  the  F.  A.  Z.,  which 
always  recognized  its  prerogatives  in  the  Middle  West.  The  Order 
never  became  in  fact  a  fraternal  association,  having  no  insurance  or 
benefit  features,  but  was  devoted  exclusively  to  Zionist  work.  It 
always  kept  a  certain  independence  of  the  F.  A.  Z.,  although  it  virtu- 
ally agreed  to  become  subordinate  to  and  be  included  in  the  Federa- 
tion. At  one  time,  it  paid  a  per  capita  tax  to  the  Federation,  and  was 
given  representation  at  the  Federation  Conventions.  Of  recent  years 
their  relation  was  much  closer,  and,  in  1917,  the  Order  Knights  of  Zion 
changed  its  name  to  the  Federated  Zionist  Societies  of  the  Middle 
West.  The  whole  basis  of  Zionist  organization  in  America  was  that 
of  societies — in  contrast  to  the  international  form  of  organization  and 
that  of  several  European  Federations,  whose  unit  is  the  individual—^ 
and  representation  at  the  Conventions  was  through  societies,  which 
were  allowed  a  certain  number  of  delegates  according  to  their  size. 
The  membership  of  these  societies  was  determined  by  social  grouping 
rather  than  neighborhood.  Age,  language,  and  education,  were  the 
main  factors.  In  some  cases  they  were  composed  of  persons  coming 
from  a  certain  section  of  the  Russian  Empire.  Certain  cultural  and 
idealistic  tendencies  manifested  themselves  through  special  societies; 
there  were  radicals  in  religion  or  politics,  conservatives,  Hebraists. 
The  Poale  Zion  (Socialists)  and  the  Mizrahi  (Orthodox),  who  are 
internationally  organized  under  the  Congress,  organized  themselves 
also  in  the  United  States.  (See  Ch.  XV.)  Considering  themselves 
international  parties  with  a  specific  extra-Zionist  aim,  both  have  held  aloof 
from  the  organized  body  of  American  Zionists.  At  times  there  has  been 
an  attempt  to  co-operate,  but  no  form  of  organization  has  been  found 
which  would  make  co-operation  permanent  and  effective. 

Of  the  societies  within  the  F.  A.  Z.,  the  following  were  nationally 
organized  for  special  purposes : 

The  Order  Sons  of  Zion 

This  was  formed  by  members  of  the-  F.  A.  Z.  in  1907.  The 
organizers  were  Joshua  Sprayragen  and  Dr.  H.  J.  Epstein.  They 
wished  to  create  a  fraternal  insurance  association  that  would  hofd 
to  the  Zionist  movement  members  who,  because  of  middle  age  or  of 

74 


ZIONISM  IN  AMERICA 

newer  interests,  were  being  drawn  away  from  Zionist  activities.  Self- 
interest,  they  felt,  was  an  asset  that  could  be  used ;  the  benefits  of  fraternal 
insurance  might  bind  many  to  Zionism  through  a  stable  organization  that 
offered  practical  advantage,  whereas  these  same  people  would  not  be  held 
by  abstract  ideals  alone.  The  insurance  system  was  based  on  the  soundest 
ideas  in  insurance.  The  O.  S.  of  Z.  was  always  an  integral  part  of  the 
F.  A.  Z.,  paying  its  shekolim  and  a  modified  per  capita  tax  direct  to  the 
Federation,  and  being  represented  by  several  delegates  on  the  Federation 
Executive  Committee. 

Young  Judaea 

The  educational  or  junior  department  of  the  Zionist  Organization 
came  into  existence  in  1909.  Before  that  time  there  had  been  sporadic 
attempts  in  New  York  City  and  elsewhere  to  found  organizations 
similar  to  Young  Judaea.  The  Federation  of  American  Zionists  finally 
was  successful  in  welding  a  number  of  juvenile  Jewish  clubs  into  one 
central  junior  organization.  This  was  effected  by  Mr.  David  Schnee- 
berg,  who  for  years  was  the  guiding  spirit  in  Young  Judaea.  The 
medium  through  which  Young  Judaea  works  is  the  club  or  group 
of  clubs  of  Jewish  children,  ranging  in  age  from  about  ten  to  twenty 
years.  These  clubs  usually  meet  in  some  communal  center  under  the 
supervision  of  a  leader  or  director  who  is  in  constant  touch  with  the 
central  organization.  The  actual  work  of  the  individual  club,  although 
necessarily  prescribed  in  certain  details  by  the  organization,  is  left  in 
general  to  the  leader,  and  consists  of  the  celebration  of  Jewish 
holidays  by  means  of  public  gatherings  and  festive  meetings,  the 
study  of  Jewish  history  and  of  topics  of  general  Jewish  interest,  dis- 
cussions and  debates  on  Zionism  and  on  other  related  subjects,  and 
the  fostering  of  the  Jewish  spirit  by  insistence  upon  a  positive  and 
reverent  attitude  towards  the  Jewish  religion  and  an  intelligent  inter- 
est in  all  Jewish  affairs.  Young  Judaea  has  grown  from  a  merely 
local  group  to  a  national  organization  of  about  800  clubs  with  a  mem- 
bership of  15,000.  Among  its  other  activities  are  the  publication  of  a 
magazine,  The  Young  Judaean,  a  bulletin  for  leaders,  books  of  essays 
and  poems,  Hebrew  songs,  and  other  educational  matter.  At  first, 
the  tendency  was  to  regard  the  organization  as  one  that  should  be 
used  for  the  accomplishment  of  actual  Zionist  work,  but  more  and 
more  the  emphasis  has  been  put  on  education,  in  the  conviction  that 

75 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

children  should  not  be  used  except  as  a  means  for  their  own  develop- 
ment. When,  in  1918,  Young  Judaea  came  under  the  Education 
Department  of  the  Zionist  Organization  as  its  juvenile  section,  it  was 
already  a  powerful  force  for  good  in  the  Jewish  communities  of  numer- 
ous cities,  and  a  training  ground  for  future  Zionists. 

Hadassah 

The  Woman's  Zionist  Organization,  Hadassah,  was  organized  in 
1912  to  meet  the  need  for  special  propaganda  among  certain  types  of 
women,  especially  married  women,  who  could  not  be  reached  by  a 
mixed  society.  It  was  always  an  integral  part  of  the  F.  A.  Z.  Its 
special  appeal  to  women  lay  in  its  program  of  Palestinian  work,  which 
drew  in  lovers  of  Palestine,  whether  or  not  they  were  Zionists,  and 
made  Zionists  of  them.  It  established  a  system  of  district  visiting 
nursing  and  midwifery  in  Jerusalem,  as  well  as  of  trachoma  treatments 
in  the  schools  under  the  supervision  of  physicians  of  Jerusalem,  and 
also  general  hygienic  educational  work  which  centered  in  its  settle- 
ment house.  (See  Ch.  XXVIII.)  Its  ideal  was  a  system  of  nursing 
and  hospitals  throughout  Palestine.  After  the  outbreak  of  war  it 
employed  Dr.  Helene  Kagan,  a  Zionist  woman  physician  of  Jerusalem, 
who  established  a  clinic,  and  co-operated  with  other  health  agencies 
in  meeting  a  succession  of  disasters.  A  Jewish  nurse  was  also  dispatched 
from  New  York  to  the  encampment  of  Palestinian  Jewish  refugees 
in  Alexandria.  At  the  request  of  the  Inner  Actions  Committee  and  the 
Provisional  Executive  Committee  for  General  Zionist  Affairs, 
Hadassah  organized  and  dispatched  a  Zionist  Medical  unit  of  over 
forty  members  to  Palestine  after  the  British  occupation.  Hadassah 
was  well  organized  and  successful,  gaining  above  5,500  members  in 
six  years,  and  doing  much  active  welfare  work  for  Palestine  and  much 
educational  Zionist  work  among  women  and  young  girls.  After  the 
reorganization,  in  which  Miss  Henrietta  Szold,  who  had  from  the  first 
been  chairman  of  Hadassah,  played  an  active  part,  Hadassah' s  welfare 
work  merged  into  the  Woman's  Department,  which  still  maintains  the 
societies  by  that  name,  and  its  educational  work  became  part  of  the 
Department  of  Education. 

The  Intercollegiate  Zionist  Association 

The  Intercollegiate  Zionist  Association — the  academic  branch  of 
the  Zionist  Organization — was  founded  in  1915,  and  has  since  come 

76 


ZIONISM  IN  AMERICA 

under  the  direction  of  the  Department  of  Education.  The  work  in  the 
thirty-five  undergraduate  and  three  graduate  chapters  consists  of  lec- 
tures, forums,  intensive  study  groups,  music  and  drama  festivals,  and 
a  summer  agricultural  course.  Among  its  literary  activities  are  the 
publication  of  a  yearbook  Kadimah,  a  monthly  Bulletin,  and  the  con- 
ducting of  the  Brandeis  prize  essay  contest. 

Colonization  Societies 

Mention  must  here  be  made  of  Palestine  colonization  societies 
originated  by  American  Zionists,  but  which,  under  the  general  prin- 
ciples of  Zionist  organization,  could  not  be  officially  recognized  by 
the  F.  A.  Z.  because  they  were  for  the  benefit  of  individuals  and  for  the 
acquisition  of  individual  property.  Such  was  the  Ahoozah  plan,  orig- 
inated in  1909  by  Simon  Goldman  of  St.  Louis.  This  plan  was  for 
the  establishment  of  a  Jewish  settlement  in  Palestine  by  persons 
living  in  a  given  locality  in  this  country,  who  would  agree  to  pay  a  certain 
amount  every  year  into  a  fund,  and  in  the  course  of  a  definite  number 
of  years  would,  with  the  investment  of  the  previously  paid  capital,  be 
assured  of  a  comfortable  livelihood  in  Palestine.  The  colony  of  Poreah 
was  established,  where  Mr.  Goldman  spent  the  rest  of  his  life.  The 
plan  has  been  successfully  imitated  by  Zionists  in  several  European  coun- 
tries, and  Russia  now  has  abour  200  Ahoozah  groups.  In  America,  too, 
new  groups  were  organiz^L  And  the  Zion  Commonwealth,  organized 
by  Bernard  A.  Rosenblat^^hich  draws  its  membership  from  all  parts 
of  the  United  States,  and  which  has  a  definite  program  of  social  justice, 
with  common  ownership  of  communal  values,  also  grew  out  of  the 
Ahoozah  movement.     (See  Ch.  XX.) 


Zionist  Membership  before 


Before  1914,  American  JH  Mras  largely  confined  to  the  Jewish 
immigrants  from  Eastern  Eurl^^t  was  an  unfashionable  movement, 
sneered  at  by  the  well-to-do  middle  class  German  Jews — a  folk  move- 
ment. It  had  headquarters  in  a  dingy  room  on  Henry  Street.  Its 
leaders  were  idealists  with  a  devoted  following,  but  unknown  outside 
Jewish  ranks.  And  when  in  its  gradual  growth  it  attracted  the  ideal- 
ists among  those  who  had  matured  under  the  influence  of  American 
Jewish  assimilationism,  these  converts  were  looked  upon  askance  by 
their  Jewish  associates  and  had  to  bear  ridicule  and  even  persecution. 
Zionists  who  needed  money  for  Jewish  national  work  among  the 
masses,  expressed  their  Zionism  through  general  Jewish  organizations 
in  order  to  procure  funds  from  the  prejudiced  rich  and  thus  reach 

77 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

a  larger  public.  At  that  time  a  few  prominent  Jews,  among  them 
Louis  D.  Brandeis,  had  declared  themselves  Zionists,  but  had  as  yet 
taken  little  active  part  in  the  movement.  There  were  then  about 
20,000  shekel  payers  in  the  United  States. 

References: 

Mordecai  M.  Noah,  by  A.  B.  Makover.  Mordeoai  M.  Noah,  by  Simon  Wolf. 
Poems  of  Emma  Lazarus,  Vol.  II;  Houghton,  Mifflin  Co.  Convention  Numbers  of 
the  Maccabaean  Magazine. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

A  brief  history  of  Zionism  in  your  city  (or  state).  A  brief  history  of  the  Jews 
in  America. 


* 


78 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE   WAR   AND   ZIONIST   POLITICAL   ACTION 

The  four  and  one-half  years  of  the  World  War  caused  no  less 
complete  a  revolution  in  the  affairs  of  Zionism  than  in  those  of  the 
whole  world.  And  as  with  other  peoples,  there  was  the  tremendous 
contrast  between  acute  suffering  and  all  but  despair,  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  a  fulfillment  more  rapid  and  complete  than  could  have 
been  dreamed  of  a  few  years  earlier.  Zionism,  which  previously  had 
been  in  the  view  of  the  anti-Zionists  an  obscure  movement  chiefly  of 
the  masses,  now  emerged  to  public  view  as  a  political  factor  embracing 
every  section  and  every  class  of  Jewry  and  commanding  the  attention 
of  statesmen  in  all  lands. 

The  Immediate  Crisis  in  Palestine 

In  no  land  did  the  war  more  quickly  cause  calamity  than  in 
Palestine,  which  even  before  it  became  an  actual  war  zone,  suffered 
as  much  as  the  actual  belligerents.  Although  in  August,  1914,  when 
the  war  broke  out,  Turkey  was  still  a  neutral,  yet  within  a  few  weeks 
of  the  declaration  of  war  by  Germany,  Palestine  was  in  acute  financial 
distress,  acute  in  the  sense  that  the  masses  were  threatened  with 
starvation.  This  was  due  to  the  unhealthy  state  of  dependence  of  the 
Palestinians  upon  other  countries.  And  not  only  were  the  large  actu- 
ally dependent  populations,  those  in  the  monasteries  and  institutions, 
as  well  as  the  Jews  dependent  upon  the  Halukkah,  at  once  cut  off 
from  their  source  of  supply,  the  charitably  inclined  in  Russia  and 
Western  Europe  and  America,  but  even  the  self-supporting,  the  farmers 
and  planters,  were  cut  off  from  their  one  source  of  trade,  the  foreign 
markets.  European  ships  stopped  coming  to  Palestine.  During  the  first 
two  years  of  the  war,  owing  to  a  number  of  circumstances,  the  cessation  of 
all  trade,  the  requisitions  of  the  Turkish  Government,  and  also  the  locust 
plague  of  1915,  the  new  Yishub  in  Palestine,  the  whole  Jewish  settlement 
and  the  work  of  the  past  forty  years,  was  actually  threatened  with  destruc- 
tion.   (See  Ch.  XXXIII.) 

Dispersion  of  Members  of  Inner  Actions  Committee 

The  Zionists  did  not  fail  to  grasp  the  situation,  but  their  power 

79 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

to  help  was  impeded  by  their  own  immediate  difficulties.  The  Inner 
Actions  Committee,  which  met  regularly  in  Berlin  and  transacted  all 
international  business  between  Congresses,  was  international  in  its 
composition.  Its  members  at  the  time  war  was  declared  were  in 
various  countries.  Dr.  Schmarya  Levin  had  come  to  America  to  be 
present  at  the  Zionist  Convention  in  June.  His  presence  in  America 
during  the  war  was  valuable  both  for  American  Zionism  and  the 
international  cause.  In  the  latter's  service  he  returned  to  Europe 
soon  after  the  cessation  of  hostilities.  Warburg  and  Hantke, 
two  of  the  German  members,  were  in  Berlin  and  remained  there  prac- 
tically throughout  the  war.  Jacobson,  another  member,  was  then  in 
Constantinople.  There  he  stayed,  serving  Zionist  political  ends,  until 
the  drama  of  war  revealed  the  new  setting  in  which  the  Allies  took 
upon  themselves  the  vindication  of  Jewish  nationalism.  When  he 
saw  that  Constantinople  could  no  longer  be  the  center  of  Zionist 
politics,  he  left  and  went  to  Copenhagen,  Denmark,  where  in  a  neutral 
country  he  could  be  of  practical  usefulness  to  the  Zionists  by  trans- 
mitting information  and  funds.  He  established  a  Zionist  Bureau  in 
Copenhagen.  Tschlenow,  one  of  the  Russian  members,  went  back 
and  forth  between  Russia  and  Denmark,  and  eventually  went  to 
England.  He  was  very  helpful  to  the  English  Zionists.  Immediately 
after  the  Russian  Revolution  of  April,  1917,  as  leader  of  the  Russian 
Zionists,  he  presided  at  their  first  open  and  untrammelled  demonstra- 
tion, and  he  made  a  stirring  address,  which  foreshadowed  the  great 
events  that  have  since  come  to  pass.  But  unfortunately  he  died  before 
that  fulfillment.  The  third  Russian  member,  Nahum  Sokolow,  moved 
about  freely  in  the  Allied  countries,  and  later  became  one  of  the 
chief  instruments  in  bringing  about  the  political  triumph  of  Zionism. 
So  the  members  of  the  Inner  Actions  Committee  were  perforce  scattered, 
and  the  Committee  could  not  function. 

American  Zionists  Assume  the  Burden 

This  disaster  for  world  Zionism  brought  forth  an  opportunity 
which  could  not  have  been  foreseen.  Those  very  forces  that  were 
set  in  motion  through  a  great  calamity,  afterward  became  the  means 
of  forceful,  constructive  action.  For  the  moment,  the  center  of  gravity 
was  shifted  to  America. 

American  Zionists  of  prominence  now  were  moved  to  step  for- 
ward and  put  the  best  of  their  strength  at  the  service  of  the  cause. 
As  early  as  August  30,  1914,  a  month  after  the  outbreak  of  war,  an 
extraordinary  conference  of  American  Zionists  was  called  in  New 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

York  City  to  deal  with  the  new  situation.  The  Americans  felt  it  necessary, 
for  the  time  being,  to  take  upon  themselves  many  of  the  responsi- 
bilities of  the  Inner  Actions  Committee.  Dr.  Schmarya  Levin 
being  present  as  representative  of  the  Committee,  could  in  a  way  give 
its  sanction  to  the  action  taken.  A  Provisional  Executive  Committee 
for  General  Zionist  Affairs  was  elected  to  act  in  agreement  with  the 
members  of  the  Actions  Committee,  and  to  raise  an  Emergency  Fund 
for  the  relief  of  Palestine.  Louis  D.  Brandeis  was  unanimously  elected 
chairman.  To  many  of  the  representative  Zionists  present  at  this 
meeting,  this  was  the  first  indication  of  his  paramount  leadership  in 
America.  His  power  over  the  body  of  Zionists  was  more  than  that 
simply  of  a  man  who  already  had  a  nation-wide  reputation  as  an  Ameri- 
can statesman  and  who  would  therefore  naturally  hold  the  respect 
of  his  fellow  Jews.  In  him,  they  felt  a  leader.  His  personality  in  itself 
was  commanding.  He  had  come  to  Zionism  after  a  life-time  spent  in 
a  non-Jewish  environment  and  in  the  service  of  the  American  Com- 
monwealth. He  came  to  Zionism  because  he  saw  in  that  movement 
the  expression  of  the  democratic  spirit  of  his  own  people  and  he  could 
not  deny  its  claim.  There  is  a  certain  quality  in  his  appearance  and 
manner  which  reminds  one  of  the  pictures  and  descriptions  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  There  is  the  same  combination  of  stern,  almost  tragic  force, 
of  geniality  and  pathos.  His  are  the  qualities  of  the  liberator.  The 
leadership  of  Mr.  Brandeis  drew  to  the  movement  many  who  had 
previously  despised  or  ignored  it.  From  that  time  forth,  American 
Zionism  grew  by  leaps  and  bounds.  Very  early  in  the  war,  questions 
of  nationalism  arose  which  threw  quite  a  new  light  on  Zionism.  Jews 
who  had  lived  self-centered  and  smug  lives  were  roused  to  wider 
issues,  and  the  disaster  that  overshadowed  East  European  Jewry 
stirred  and  lashed  Jewish  consciousness  to  self-realization.  The  next 
four  Conventions  in  Boston,  Baltimore,  Philadelphia,  and  Pittsburgh 
had  more  the  character  of  Congresses,  dealing  with  international  as 
well  as  nation-wide  interests.  There  was  a  constant  interchange  of 
ideas  between  the  Zionists  of  Europe  and  those  of  America,  so  that 
action  taken  here  assumed  a  world-wide  significance.  One  after  the 
other,  the  leaders  of  American  Jewish  life  with  their  followers  came 
into  the  Zionist  movement.  Whole  fraternal  orders  with  thousands 
of  members  adopted  resolutions  endorsing  the  Basle  Platform.  Upon  the 
Provisional  Committee  for  General  Zionist  Affairs  fell  the  chief  finan- 
cial burden  for  the  four  years  of  war.  And  this  burden  was  nobly 
borne,  due  partly  to  the  commanding  leadership  of  such  men  as  Justice 
Louis  D.  Brandeis,  Judge  Julian  W.  Mack,  and  Rabbi  Stephen  S. 

81 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Wise,  partly  to  the  devoted  and  huge  labors  of  the  old-time  faithful 
Zionists  on  the  Committee,  such  as  Jacob  deHaas,  Louis  Lipsky,  and 
Henrietta  Szold,  and  partly  to  the  aroused  race  consciousness  of  the 
masses  of  the  American  Jews.  The  Palestinian  budget  was  met  at 
first  by  the  Emergency  Fund,  inaugurated  at  the  meeting  on 
August  30,  1914,  and  later,  after  the  British  Declaration,  by  the  Pales- 
tine Restoration  Fund.  Its  first  installment  was  one  million,  and  its 
second  installment  three  million  dollars.  The  American  Zionist  budget 
rose  between  1914  and  1919  from  $14,000  to  $3,000,000.  To  contribute 
to  this  Fund  was  more  than  a  duty  or  an  act  of  generosity.  It  became 
a  privilege  in  the  sense  that  those  who  gave  of  their  means  were  lay- 
ing the  foundation  of  reconstructed  Jewish  national  life.  Throughout 
the  war  there  was  co-operation  between  the  general  Jewish  relief 
agencies  and  the  Zionist  Funds.  The  Zionists  in  Europe  also  did 
their  share  and  more  than  their  share,  but  naturally  their  means  were 
limited  by  the  exigencies  of  war.  The  general  agencies,  grouped  in  the 
Joint  Distribution  Committee,  met  on  the  whole,  those  requirements 
in  Palestine  which  might  be  called  purely  relief,  such  as  soup  kitchens 
and  doles,  whereas  the  Zionists,  so  far  as  practical,  confined  themselves 
to  constructive  and  preservatory  measures,  such  as  loans  to  farmers 
and  employers,  truck-gardening  (carried  on  by  the  Jewish  National 
Fund),  the  maintenance  of  schools  (including  feeding  of  the  pupils),  and 
of  other  institutions.  However,  in  certain  instances,  the  Joint  Distribution 
Committee  co-operated  with  the  Zionist  Organization,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  Medical  Unit. 

In  America,  events  moved  rapidly.  Mr.  Brandeis  had  been  made 
a  member  of  the  United  States  Supreme  Court  during  the  first  term 
of  President  Wilson.  Justice  Brandeis  could  not  be  as  active  in 
public  work  for  the  Zionist  movement  as  Mr.  Brandeis  had  been. 
But  his  influence  and  power  increased  a  hundredfold.  Although  his 
official  acts  as  a  Zionist  had  to  be  reduced  to  a  minimum,  he  held 
in  his  hands  all  the  reins  of  the  movement.  He  was  in  daily  communi- 
cation by  telephone,  telegraph,  and  conference  with  the  other  leaders 
of  the  movement,  and  nothing  escaped  his  attention.  This  fact  was 
well  known  even  to  the  rank  and  file  of  Zionists,  and  there  was 
developed  a  certain  spirit  of  discipline,  which  created  what  was  very 
nearly  a  Zionist  army.  Mr.  Brandeis  appealed  directly  to  the  loyalty 
of  the  organized  Zionists.  He  spoke  constantly  of  the  need  of  organ- 
ization and  discipline,  and  by  this  means  he  built  up  a  remarkable 
spirit  of  co-operation  and  subordination. 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

The  Transfer  Department 

America  entered  the  war.  A  number  of  Zionists,  prominent  in 
American  national  affairs,  were  put  in  positions  of  trust  by  the  Gov- 
ernment. It  was  known  months  before  President  Wilson's  official 
letter  that  the  American  Government  was  in  sympathy  with  Zionist 
aims.  The  Provisional  Committee,  besides  its  original  purpose  of 
acting  in  a  neutral  country  in  the  interests  of  the  dispersed  Actions 
Committee,  had  gradually  assumed  other  and  indispensable  functions. 
Perhaps  most  important  was  that  of  the  Transfer  Department, 
which  undertook  to  forward  money  free  of  charge  for  individuals  not 
only  to  Palestine,  but  to  Poland,  Rumania,  Russia,  and  other  occupied 
territories.  A  well  devised  system  of  office  management  was  installed 
in  the  now  large  and  impressive  offices  of  the  Zionist  Organization 
in  New  York,  and  the  Transfer  Department,  by  its  efficiency  and 
reliability,  won  the  confidence  of  all  those  whom  it  served.  This 
means  that  it  won  the  confidence  of  the  governments  in  all  those 
countries  with  which  it  had  dealings,  and  that  it  won  the  confidence 
of  the  individuals  who  forwarded  money  by  this  means.  Not  only 
Jews,  but  other  peoples,  especially  the  Arabs,  Greeks,  and  other  races 
of  Palestine  were  helped  by  this  service  and  turned  to  the  Zionist 
Organization  in  preference  to  less  reliable  agencies.  The  Transfer 
Department  created  confidence  in  itself  by  its  dependable  financial 
methods,  and  so  established  what  was  practically  a  Zionist  credit 
throughout  the  world.  This  had  no  small  share  in  bringing  about  that 
attitude  on  the  part  of  the  governments  of  the  Allied  countries  which 
later  caused  them  to  recognize  the  Zionist  Organization  as  the  official 
representative  of  the  Jewish  people. 

The  British  Eastern  Campaign  and  the  Jewish  Legion 

International  events  shaped  themselves  toward  the  Zionist  con- 
summation. Great  Britain  inaugurated  its  Eastern  Campaign.  The 
eventualities  of  war  after  the  entrance  of  Turkey  proved  plainly  to 
the  Jews  of  Palestine  that  their  salvation,  especially  their  national 
salvation,  lay  in  the  hands  of  the  Allies.  Turkey,  which  previously 
had  sinned  against  the  Jews  more  by  omission  than  aggression,  and 
whose  neglect  had  at  times  been  set  off  by  a  corresponding  leniency, 
now  changed  to  a  harsh  master.  Goods,  animals,  and  men  were  con- 
scripted without  the  least  regard  for  the  necessities  of  the  inhabitants. 
Zionists  were  systematically  persecuted.  Save  for  the  appeals  of 
German  Jews,  massacres  such  as  that  of  the  Armenians  might  have 
taken  place.    Soon  after  the  entry  of  Turkey  into  the  war,  practically 

83 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

all  Jews  who  were  Russian  or  subjects  of  other  Allied  States  were  expelled 
from  Palestine.  Such  was  the  irony  of  the  fate  that  had  driven  them 
as  refugees  from  Russian  Ghettos  to  the  farms  and  garden  cities  of 
the  land  of  their  fathers.  These  Jews  sought  refuge  in  Alexandria, 
Egypt,  under  British  protection,  whither  they  were  carried  by  Ameri- 
can warships,  and  where  most  of  them  lived  in  concentration  camps, 
poised  for  the  return  to  Palestine.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Great 
Britain  undertook  the  much  criticized  and  disastrous  Gallipoli  cam- 
paign. Whatever  may  have  been  the  hazards  or  the  mistakes  of  this 
campaign,  to  control  or  subdue  Turkey  was  a  political  necessity  to 
Britain  at  that  time,  for  the  Suez  Canal  and  the  communications  with 
India  were  threatened.  A  young  Russian  Zionist,  Vladimir  Jabotinsky, 
who  had  recently  travelled  in  Palestine,  happened  to  be  in  Alexandria. 
He  was  acquainted  with  many  of  the  refugees,  and  he  conceived  the  idea 
of  organizing  among  them  a  volunteer  force  of  Jewish  soldiers  who 
would  fight  with  the  British  troops  for  the  liberation  of  Palestine  from 
Turkish  rule.  He  succeeded  in  raising  a  fairly  large  company  of 
Jewish  volunteers.  The  British  authorities  gladly  accepted  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Jewish  soldiers,  and  formed  them  into  a  distinct  Jewish 
battalion.  These  Jewish  troops  were  later  sent  to  the  Dardanelles 
under  Colonel  Patterson  and  were  known  as  the  Zion  Mule  Corps. 
They  fought  under  the  Zionist  flag  as  well  as  under  the  British  flag. 
Although  they  were  assigned  to  the  dangerous  task  of  carrying  ammu- 
nition and  supplies  to  the  trenches,  they  were  trained  to  the  use  of 
arms,  and  on  several  occasions  they  took  part  in  hot  and  decisive 
fighting.  After  the  failure  of  the  Dardanelles  campaign,  this  unit  was 
disbanded.  However,  Jabotinsky  did  not  rest  until  by  travelling  to 
Italy  and  to  England  and  by  reiterating  his  idea  of  a  Jewish  army  for 
Palestine,  he  won  the  consent  of  the  British  authorities  in  London 
and  brought  about  the  organization  of  the  Judaeans  in  England  and, 
indirectly,  of  the  Jewish  Legion  in  the  United  States.  The  latter  was 
composed  of  only  such  Jewish  volunteers  in  America  as  were  excluded 
from  the  operation  of  the  draft  law.  They  had  to  enlist  in  the  British 
army.  Yet  2,722  young  men  were  sent  from  America.  In  Palestine 
itself  about  1,200  young  men  volunteered  for  service  with  the  Judaean 
battalions.  Many  of  the  Jewish  troops  took  an  active  and  creditable 
part  in  the  final  fighting  in  Palestine  under  General  Allenby;  and 
again  their  leader  was  Colonel  (now  Brigadier-General)  Patterson. 
These  Jewish  troops  marched  under  the  Zionist  flag,  wore  the  Magen 
David  as  their  insignia,  received  all  their  orders  in  Hebrew,  and  had 

84 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

many  Jewish  officers.     Those  that  trained  in  England  made  a  fine 
record  for  themselves  there,  among  other  things,  as  boxers. 

The  British  Declaration 

When  General  Allenby  began  his  successful  campaign  in 
Palestine,  the  political  work  of  European  Zionists  bore  its  first 
fruits.  Nahum  Sokolow  had  been  in  England.  There,  too,  Professor 
Chaim  Weizmann,  President  of  the  English  Zionist  Federation,  had 
won  his  way  by  personal  merit  and  service  into  the  favor  of  the  British 
Government.  England  was  traditionally  friendly  to  Zionism,  as  Herzl 
himself  had  discovered.  Zionism  appealed  both  to  British  idealism 
and  to  British  political  sense.  Weizmann  is  a  Russian  Jew,  a  British 
subject,  who  became  professor  of  chemistry  at  the  University  of 
Manchester.  During  the  war  he  perfected  a  certain  chemical  that 
was  essential  to  Britain  in  the  making  of  munitions.  As  a  non-Jewish 
observer  says:  "He  has  a  genius  for  a  very  useful  department  of 
diplomacy.  He  has  a  genius  for  being  charming.  .  .  .  He  has  a 
pointed  beard,  a  bald  head,  a  tallish  and  slender  and  lithe  body,  an 
agile  step,  a  luminous  and  lovable  smile,  a  tongue  instant  at  argument 
and  at  retort,  always  pounding  something  home  and  always  poking 
fun  at  something.  He  is  that  paralyzing  and  undepictable  combina- 
tion— a  zealot  who  is  a  wit.  Mr.  Arthur  James  Balfour  liked  him. 
And  the  war  came.  And  Chaim  Weizmann  served  Britain — and 
served  Israel — with  his  chemistry."*  Weizmann  asked  no  reward  for 
his  chemical  discovery.  But  the  reward  came  on  November  2,  1917. 
Arthur  James  Balfour,  then  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs, 
wrote  his  famous  letter  to  Lord  Walter  Rothschild,  embodying  the 
following  declaration : 

"His  Majesty's  Government  view  with  favour  the  establishment 
in  Palestine  of  a  national  home  for  the  Jewish  people  and  will  use 
their  best  endeavours  to  facilitate  the  achievement  of  this  object,  it  being 
clearly  understood  that  nothing  shall  be  done  which  may  prejudice 
the  civil  and  religious  rights  of  non-Jewish  communities  in  Palestine, 
or  the  rights  and  political  status  enjoyed  by  Jews  in  any  other  country." 

This  declaration  was  sent  from  the  Foreign  Office  to  Lord  Walter 
Rothschild  as  representative  of  the  English  Zionist  Organization.  It 
came  perhaps  as  a  surprise  to  large  sections  of  the  Jewish  people, 
and  notably  to  those  who  had  either  opposed  or  not  interested  them- 
selves in  Zionism.  But  to  those  who  were  active  in  Zionist  circles, 
the  declaration  was  no  surprise.  Among  the  leaders  it  had  been 
expected  for  many  months.    The  wording  of  it  came  from  the  British 

*  William  Hard  in  ' '  Israel. ' ' 

85 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Foreign  Office,  but  the  text  had  been  revised  in  the  Zionist  Offices 
in  America  as  well  as  in  England.  The  British  Declaration  was  made 
in  the  form  in  which  the  Zionists  desired  it,  and  the  last  clauses  were 
added  in  order  to  appease  a  certain  section  of  timid  anti-Zionist 
opinion.  The  declaration  followed  a  long  period  of  preparation  on 
the  part  of  the  Zionist  representatives  of  the  Jewish  people.  They 
were  now  recognized  by  the  nations  as  a  political  entity.  Like  the 
decree  of  King  Cyrus,  the  British  Declaration  will  go  down  in  Jewish 
history  as  a  national  charter. 

Very  soon  after  the  Declaration,  a  conference  was  held  by  the 
Provisional  Executive  Committee  of  America  in  order  to  endorse  the 
British  action,  and  to  prepare  the  country  for  its  tremendous  tasks  in 
raising  the  Restoration  Fund.  At  this  conference,  held  in  Baltimore, 
December  19th,  resolutions  were  passed  endorsing  the  action  of  Chaim 
Weizmann  in  his  relations  with  the  British  Government  and  acclaim- 
ing his  leadership. 

Endorsements  of  Other  Nations 

The  British  Declaration  was  soon  followed  by  pronouncements 
from  other  governments,  from  international  parties,  and  from  influen- 
tial and  representative  individuals.  Nahum  Sokolow  travelled  to 
France  and  Italy,  where  he  elicited  from  the  ministers  of  foreign 
affairs  endorsements  of  the  British  Declaration.  The  Pope  also  gave 
him  an  audience  in  which  he  expressed  his  sympathy  with  Jewish 
efforts  at  repatriation  in  Palestine  and  his  confidence  that  the  Jews 
would  protect  all  religious  interests  there.  Greece,  Serbia,  Holland, 
and  Siam,  and  later  China  and  Japan,  also  endorsed  the  British  Decla- 
ration. The  British  Labor  party  in  its  war  aims  included  a  free 
Palestine  for  the  Jews.  And  the  American  Alliance  for  Labor  and 
Democracy  urged  the  re-establishment  of  a  national  homeland  for 
the  Jews  in  Palestine.  The  Interallied  Socialists  adopted  similar 
resolutions.  (See  Ch.  XV.)  Georg  Brandes,  the  Danish  critic,  and 
Gustav  Herve,  French  Socialist  and  editor,  also  came  out  in  favor 
of  Zionism,  and  the  chairman  of  the  New  York  branch  of  the 
Armenian  Union,  H.  H.  Khazoyan,  declared  that  Jewish  and  Armen- 
ian liberation  were  bound  up  together.  The  leaders  of  the  new  Arab 
state  have  also  made  friendly  declarations.  Notably,  during  the 
Peace  Conference,  Prince  Feisal  of  the  Kingdom  of  the  Hedjaz,  took 
occasion  to  declare  anew  his  good  will.  These  latter  manifestations 
are  extremely  important,  as  the  Arabs  and  Armenians,  as  well  as  the 
Syrians,  will  be  our  national  neighbors  in  Palestine,  and  co-operation 

86 


CTTA1M   WEIZMANN 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

with  them  on  a  friendly  basis  is  the  first  of  political  necessities.  The 
Syrian  opposition  may  be  overcome  only  by  wise  and  tolerant  political 
action.  Our  Zionist  leaders  have  good  ground  to  claim  that  the 
Zionist  political  activity  has  had  a  much  wider  influence  on  the  whole 
trend  of  international  politics  than  appears  on  the  surface.  It  seems 
that  the  Zionists  were  the  first  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  the  chancel- 
lories of  contemporary  Europe  the  claims  and  necessities  of  small  and  op- 
pressed nations.  The  solution  of  self-determination  and  the  recognition  of 
the  necessity  for  a  League  of  Nations  to  protect  these  small  peoples 
from  future  aggression,  have  grown  in  large  measure  out  of  the  claims 
of  the  Zionists.  So,  throughout  the  war,  the  Jewish  people  have  made 
their  own  claims,  the  claim  for  a  general  system  of  justice  and 
democracy. 

Opposition  among  English  and  American  Jews 

Both  in  England  and  in  America  the  Jewish  opposition  to  Zionism, 
which  had  intrenched  itself  in  the  upper  circles  of  Jewish  society, 
suffered  a  sad  defeat.  In  England,  a  heated  struggle  took  place.  The 
Conjoint  Committee,  a  committee  of  wealthy  Jews,  which  assumed 
to  represent  English  Jewry,  had  bitterly  opposed  Zionism,  especially  in 
those  months  before  the  British  Declaration  when  the  Zionists  were 
intensely  active  and  surprisingly  successful.  The  British  Declaration 
with  its  outspoken  sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government, 
caused  a  crisis  which  resulted  in  the  break-up  of  the  Conjoint  Com- 
mittee and  a  complete  victory  for  the  Zionists.  The  self-constituted 
leaders  of  Jewry  had  either  to  abdicate  or  to  follow  the  people.  In 
most  cases  they  did  the  latter.  A  number  of  English  Jews  prominent 
in  government  circles  joined  the  Zionists,  among  them  Sir  Alfred 
Mond  and  the  Hon.  Herbert  Samuel,  former  British  Home  Secretary. 
In  America,  anti-Zionism  found  itself  reduced  to  petty  manoeuvring 
by  petty  persons,  which  made  itself  politically  ridiculous,  but  managed 
to  interfere  in  a  measure  with  the  collection  of  funds. 

The  Turkish  and  German  Statements 

In  the  Central  Powers  a  tendency  had  appeared  to  give  some 
sort  of  sanction  to  a  Jewish  Palestine,  in  order  not  to  be  outbid  by 
the  Allies  in  winning  Jewish  favor.  The  Allied  declarations  were 
there  decried  as  having  political  motives  and  being  for  that  reason 
untrustworthy.  Talaat  Pasha,  the  Turkish  Minister  for  Foreign 
Affairs,  had  made  an  unsatisfactory  statement  in  an  interview  in 
Vienna,  which  gave  the  questionable  assurance  that,  "As  far  as  Pales- 

87 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

tine  is  concerned,  the  Turkish  Government  has  always  maintained 
a  favorable  attitude  toward  the  Jews  who  have  been  immigrating 
there  for  the  last  century.  It  ever  looked  with  favor  on  the  enterprises 
which  tended  toward  improving  the  industrial  and  economic  condi- 
tion of  the  land.  The  Government,  however,  looks  with  disfavor  upon 
Zionists  who  have  political  ambitions  for  Palestine,  and  it  regards 
them  as  enemies  to  the  Government." 

This  was  seconded  by  Baron  von  dem  Bussche,  German  Under- 
Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  as  follows :  "As  regards  the 
aspirations  in  Palestine  of  Jewry,  especially  Zionism,  we  welcome  the 
recent  statement  of  the  Grand  Vizier  Talaat  Pasha  expressing  the 
Turkish  Government's  intention  in  accordance  with  the  friendly  atti- 
tude they  have  always  adopted  toward  the  Jews,  to  promote  flourish- 
ing settlement  within  the  limits  of  the  capacity  of  the  country,  local 
self-government  corresponding  to  the  country's  laws,  and  the  free 
development  of  their  civilization." 

In  other  words,  Germany  favored  the  continued  economic  develop- 
ment of  Turkey  at  the  hands  of  the  Jews.  She  graciously  apprised 
the  Jews  of  this  fact. 

The  German  Zionists 

In  those  difficult  days  the  attitude  of  the  German  Zionists  deserved 
special  commendation.  It  was  truly  heroic.  Without  doing  violence 
to  their  natural  German  loyalty,  they  refrained  in  their  publications 
from  either  underestimating  the  British  Declaration  or  overestimating 
the  wholly  inadequate  German  and  Turkish  statements.  Seeing  that 
the  opportunity  for  action  lay  with  Zionists  in  the  Allied  countries, 
they  effaced  themselves  and  served  as  they  could  in  practical  work. 

The  English  Zionist  Commission  to  Palestine 

On  December  10,  1917,  less  than  six  weeks  after  the  British  Declara- 
tion, General  Allenby  entered  Jerusalem.  Very  soon  thereafter, 
Great  Britain,  in  confirmation  of  its  pledge,  dispatched  to  Palestine  an 
English  Zionist  Commission,  with  Dr.  Weizmann  at  its  head.  This 
Commission  consisted  of  the  Englishmen,  Eder,  Sieff,  Jos.  Cowen,  and 
Leon  Simon,  and  attached  to  it  were  Walter  Meyer  from  the  United  States, 
and  Aaron  Aaronsohn  of  Palestine.  Others,  already  in  Palestine,  were 
coopted.  The  Italian  representatives  were  Bianchini  and  Arton.  They 
were  joined  later  by  the  American  representatives,  E.  W.  Lewin- 
Epstein,  Robert  Szold,  and  David  de  Sola  Pool.  Dr.  Weizmann's  con- 
tingent arrived  in  Palestine  in  time  to  celebrate  the  Passover  in  the 
spring  of  1918.    With  them  as  British  Liaison  Officer,  or  link  between 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

the  Zionist  Commission  and  the  British  Military  authorities,  was  Major 
Ormsby-Gore,  a  man  thoroughly  imbued  with  the  Zionist  idea.  The 
tasks  set  the  Commission  are  to  rehabilitate  the  Jewish  settlements 
and  institutions  in  Palestine,  to  repatriate  the  refugees ;  to  make  plans 
and  surveys  for  future  mass  migration  and  for  physical  development 
of  the  country,  for  harbors,  roads,  irrigation  and  sanitation ;  to  organ- 
ize Palestinian  Jewry;  to  make  connections  with  the  neighboring 
peoples,  and  in  general  to  prepare  for  future  Jewish  national  life.  One 
of  the  first  acts  of  Dr.  Weizmann  as  head  of  the  Commission  was  to 
lay  the  cornerstone  of  the  Hebrew  University  on  Mount  Scopus  at 
Jerusalem,  on  July  24,  1918.  This  ceremony,  heralded  to  the  far 
corners  of  the  world,  gave  notice  of  the  spiritual  significance  of  Jewish 
renationalization. 

The  Zionist  Medical  Unit 

Early  in  the  summer  of  1918  there  was  dispatched  from  the 
United  States  a  Zionist  Medical  Unit  of  45  members,  consisting  of 
physicians,  specialists,  trained  nurses,  and  administrators,  with  ade- 
quate equipment  and  large  medical  and  relief  supplies.  This  Unit 
arrived  in  Palestine  in  time  to  witness  the  drive  of  the  latter  half  of 
September,  when  General  Allenby  finally  swept  Palestine  clear  of  the 
Turks.  And  the  havoc  wrought  by  Turkish  measures  during  the  last 
months  of  the  occupation  made  medical  and  other  relief  acutely  neces- 
sary. (See  Ch.  XXXIII.)  The  Medical  Unit  established  a  dispensary, 
a  training  school  for  nurses,  and  a  hospital  of  one  hundred  beds  in 
Jerusalem,  an  eye-clinic  and  medical  service  in  Jaffa,  and  sent  groups 
of  workers  throughout  the  country. 

Dr.  Harry  Friedenwald,  well  known  as  a  physician  in  Baltimore, 
former  president  of  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists,  and  Vice- 
president  of  the  Zionist  Organization  of  America,  who  had  previously 
studied  health  conditions  on  the  spot  in  Palestine,  proceeded  thither 
early  in  1919,  in  order  to  act  as  a  member  of  the  Zionist  Administrative 
Commission,  to  study  the  situation  in  regard  to  medical  needs,  and  to 
investigate  and  prepare  the  ground  for  a  medical  faculty  in  the  Hebrew 
University  at  Jerusalem. 

References: 

A  Jewish  State  in  Palestine,  by  D.  W.  Amram.    Lecture,  Dept.  of  Education: 
The  Military  Campaign  in  Palestine.    England  and  Palestine,  by  Herbert  Sidebotham. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Relations  of  the  British  Government  with  the  Zionists  since  the  inception  of  the 
Zionist  movement.    The  military  campaign  in  Palestine. 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    WAR    AND    ZIONIST     POLITICAL    ACTION (CONTINUED) 

The  Reorganization  of  American  Zionists 

With  the  cessation  of  war,  all  Zionist  forces  were  immediately 
put  in  motion  to  prepare  for  the  Peace  Conference,  and  to  reap  the 
fruit  of  four  years  of  struggle.  If  among  other  peoples  the  problems 
of  reconstruction  may  have  been  neglected,  that  cannot  be  said  of  the 
Zionists.  Throughout  the  war  there  had  been  preparation  for  peace. 
In  America  a  Palestinian  Survey  had  been  created  with  a  large  library 
service,  that  had  gathered  and  tabulated  all  the  information  which 
might  be  of  service  to  the  peace  delegates.  The  whole  structure  of 
American  Zionism  had  undergone  a  complete  change  during  the 
previous  year,  largely  with  a  view  to  the  enormous  tasks  that  would 
confront  it.  Throughout  the  years  of  its  activity,  the  Provisional 
Executive  Committee  for  General  Zionist  Affairs  had  gradually 
assumed  perhaps  more  than  its  share  of  control  of  all  phases  of 
American  Zionism.  The  Zionists  of  the  Middle  West,  who  had  never 
whole-heartedly  accepted  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists,  put  themselves  wholly  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Provisional  Committee.  Zionism  in  the  West  and 
South  had  grown  tremendously,  and  a  number  of  states  had  been 
organized  with  separate  bureaus  under  the  control  of  the  Provisional 
Committee.  Gradually  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  Federation 
of  American  Zionists  had  become  almost  a  subordinate  body  of  the 
Provisional  Executive  Committee,  upon  which  it  had  a  number  of 
members.  The  Federation  of  American  Zionists  was  the  first  to  recog- 
nize the  anomaly  of  its  position  and  the  weakness  of  its  form  of 
organization,  which  could  not  long  handle  the  vast  problems  that  had 
arisen.  A  Federation  of  Societies  was  too  immature  and  unpolitical  a 
form  for  a  movement  which  was  coming  to  be  the  vital,  progressive 
force  in  all  American  Jewry.  It  was  also  out  of  harmony  both  with 
American  and  Zionist  political  ideals  which  make  the  individual,  and 
not  the  group,  the  unit  of  organization.  Hence,  it  was  decided  by 
agreement  between  the  Federation  of  American  Zionists  and  the 
Provisional  Executive  Committee  to  present  to  the  Twenty-first 
Annual  Convention  of  American  Zionists  at  Pittsburgh,  in  1918,  a 
reorganization  plan  whereby  the  Provisional  Executive  Committee  arid 
the  Federation  of  American  Zionists  were  to  be  merged  in  the  Zionist 
Organization    of    America,    and    the    whole    system    of    organization 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

changed  from  a  federation  of  societies  to  a  federation  of  individuals, 
organized  in  local  Districts  and  paying  their  shekel  and  membership 
dues  through  the  District  to  the  Zionist  Organization  of  America. 
This  radical  change,  of  which  the  societies  had  of  course  been  apprised 
in  advance,  was  fully  discussed  and  finally  passed  upon  by  the  dele- 
gates at  a  Convention  of  extreme  fervor  and  enthusiasm.  The  tre- 
mendous international  events  that  were  transpiring  had  their  solemn 
effect  upon  the  assembled  Zionists.  In  a  week  the  whole  structure  of 
American  Zionism  was  changed  by  the  adoption  of  a  constitution 
which  provided  for  the  division  of  the  whole  country  into  Zionist 
districts,  as  governmental  districts  are  divided,  so  that  locality 
became  the  basis  of  organization.  Although  the  constitution  defines 
and  safe-guards  the  existence  of  societies  for  cultural,  social,  or  other 
purposes,  the  effect  of  the  change  was  as  follows :  From  the  point 
of  view  of  fiscal  matters  and  of  representation  at  Conventions  the 
societies  ceased  to  exist.  Societies  might  take  on  the  character  of 
political  parties  or  social  or  intellectual  groups,  perhaps  influencing 
the  election  of  delegates,  but,  politically,  the  individual  was  the  unit 
and  the  District  was  made  responsible  for  the  organization  of  these 
individuals,  irrespective  of  interest,  age,  or  education.  The  Zionist 
Organization  became  responsible  for  all  American  Zionists,  not  only  for 
those  who  had  chosen  to  join  some  special  Zionist  society.  A  National 
Executive  Committee  of  50  and  an  Administrative  Committee,  consisting 
of  the  officers  and  of  the  secretaries  for  Organization  and  Education,  were 
elected.*  There  was  also  adopted  a  statement  of  principles  for  the 
social  reconstruction  of  Palestine,  worthy  of  the  goal  set  before 
us.  This  statement  is  fully  discussed  elsewhere,  with  all  of  its  impli- 
cations for  the  future  social  commonwealth  in  Palestine.  (See 
Ch.  XX.)  It  was  unanimously  adopted  and  has  proved  the 
thoroughly  democratic  and  progressive  point  of  view  of  the  Zionists 
of  America.  American  Zionism  was  keeping  pace  with  the  vast  strides 
of  the  times.  It  made  itself  ready  for  the  stupendous  events  that 
were  to  follow  a  few  months  later. 

President  Wilson  Approves  of  Zionism 

On  August  31,  1918,  President  Wilson  wrote  his  memorable  letter 
to  Rabbi  Stephen  S.  Wise,  Vice-President  of  the  Zionist  Organization 
of  America : 

*  Honorary  President,  Justice  Louis  D.  Brandeis ;  President,  Judge  Julian  W. 
Mack;  Vice-Presidents,  Dr.  Stephen  S.  Wise  and  Dr.  Harry  Friedenwald;  Secretary 
for  Organization,  Louis  Lipsky;  Secretary  for  Education,  Miss  Henrietta  Szold; 
Executive  Secretary,  Jacob  deHaas. 

91 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

"My  Dear  Rabbi  Wise: 

"I  have  watched  with  deep  and  sincere  interest  the  reconstructive 
work  which  the  Weizmann  Commission  has  done  in  Palestine  at  the 
instance  of  the  British  Government,  and  I  welcome  an  opportunity  to 
express  the  satisfaction  I  have  felt  in  the  progress  of  the  Zionist  move- 
ment in  the  United  States  and  in  the  Allied  countries  since  the  declara- 
tion by  Mr.  Balfour  on  behalf  of  the  British  Government  of  Great 
Britain's  approval  of  the  establishment  in  Palestine  of  a  national  home 
for  the  Jewish  people,  and  his  promise  that  the  British  Government 
would  use  its  best  endeavors  to  facilitate  the  achievement  of  that 
object,  with  the  understanding  that  nothing  would  be  done  to  preju- 
dice the  civil  and  religious  rights  of  non- Jewish  peoples  in  Palestine,  or 
the  rights  and  political  status  enjoyed  by  the  Jews  in  other  countries. 

"I  think  that  all  Americans  will  be  deeply  moved  by  the  report 
that  even  in  this  time  of  stress  the  Weizmann  Commission  has  been 
able  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  Hebrew  University  at  Jerusalem  with 
the  promise  that  that  bears  of  spiritual  rebirth. 

"Cordially  and  sincerely  yours, 

(Signed)         WOODEOW  WILSON" 

Secretary  of  the  Navy  Daniels,  in  his  speech  delivered  a  few 
weeks  later,  added  that  President  Wilson  had  spoken  for  the  American 
people.  And  a  number  of  legislatures  of  the  states  have  since  passed 
resolutions  supporting  the  Zionist  demands. 

The  American  Jewish  Congress 

Immediately  after  the  signing  of  the  armistice  on  November  11, 
1918,  the  National  Executive  Committee  of  the  Zionist  Organization 
of  America  was  called  together  to  decide  on  the  steps  to  be  taken. 
Three  subjects  had  to  be  discussed  and  acted  upon.  One  was  the 
international  Jewish  situation,  due  to  the  realignment  of  national 
forces  in  Eastern  Europe  and  the  horrible  persecutions  of  the  Jews 
which  resulted,  and  also  to  the  national  Jewish  demands  within  vari- 
ous countries  that  were  being  formulated  by  Zionist  leaders  in  Central 
Europe.  The  second  was  the  sending  of  a  Commission  of  American 
Zionists  to  Europe  to  co-operate  with  the  international  Zionists  in  any 
action  that  might  be  planned,  and  the  third  was  the  attitude  to  be 
taken  by  the  Zionist  Organization  toward  the  convening  of  the  Ameri- 
can Jewish  Congress,  of  which  it  was  a  constituent  member.  The 
second  question  resolved  itself  into  the  choosing  of  delegates  to  join 
the  European  Zionists.  Those  sent  were  Dr.  Stephen  S.  Wise,  Louis 
Robison,  and  Mrs.  Joseph  Fels,  with  Bernard  Flexner  as  legal  advisor. 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

The  first  and  third  questions  were  closely  bound  up  together,  as  action 
in  regard  to  the  international  Jewish  situation  ought  to  be  taken  by 
the  whole  of  Jewry  and  not  by  the  Zionists  alone. 

As  early  as  the  conference  in  New  York  of  August  30,  1914,  there 
had  been  broached  the  subject  of  an  American  Jewish  Congress  for 
the  purpose  of  presenting  to  the  world  the  claims  of  Jewry.  It  was 
also  intended  that  this  American  Congress  should  co-operate  with 
international  Jewry.  The  Zionists,  having  more  specifically  under- 
taken to  act  for  the  Palestinian  interests  of  Jewry,  felt  called  upon  to 
enlist  the  co-operation  of  all  sections  of  the  Jewish  people.  The 
Congress  idea  grew  rapidly.  Initiated  by  the  Zionists,  it  appealed 
strongly  also  to  other  bodies.  However,  there  developed  at  once  an 
intensely  bitter  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  self-constituted  leaders 
of  American  Jewry.  The  American  Jewish  Committee,  composed 
of  wealthy  and  influential  Jews  who  had  a  mandate  from  a  compara- 
tively limited  body  of  Jews,  had  assumed  control  of  communal  Jewish 
affairs  in  America  in  so  far  as  such  control  existed.  They  resented  the 
shifting  of  that  control  to  a  body  democratically  elected,  and  which 
to  their  mind  would  therefore  not  be  efficient  and  trustworthy.  The 
struggle  threatened  to  split  American  Jewry  hopelessly.  It  seemed 
that  the  very  effort  for  unity  had  created  disunity.  However,  the 
forces  of  democracy  won  out.  When  finally,  under  pressure,  the  New 
York  members  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee  themselves,  in 
their  capacity  as  members  of  the  Kehillah  of  New  York,  (which  is  a 
constituent  of  the  American  Jewish  Committee),  voted  for  the  Con- 
gress, they  hoped  to  keep  the  Congress  in  their  own  hands,  and  evolved 
a  system  of  representation  which  would  have  been  wholly  undemo- 
cratic. Another  type  of  opposition  developed  among  the  Jewish  labor 
organizations.  The  Zionists  were  resolved  to  organize  American 
Jewry  on  democratic  lines.  More  conferences  followed,  and  in  order 
to  bring  the  idea  to  what  seemed  its  only  possible  fruition,  the  Zionists 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  the  other  bodies  to  be  represented,  an 
agreement  that  at  the  time  seemed  to  some  to  endanger  certain  principles 
of  Zionism.  The  agreement  reads  in  part,  that  the  American  Jewish 
Congress  shall  meet  "exclusively  for  the  purpose  of  defining  methods 
whereby,  in  co-operation  with  the  Jews  of  the  world,  full  rights  may 
be  secured  for  the  Jews  of  all  lands  and  all  laws  discriminating  against 
them  may  be  abrogated.  It  being  understood  that  the  phrase  'full 
rights'  is  deemed  to  include : 

"1)   Civil,  religious,  and  political  rights,  and  in  addition  thereto 
"2)  Wherever  the  various  peoples  of  any  land  are  or  may  be 

93 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

recognized  as  having  rights  as  such,  the  conferring  upon  the  Jewish 
people  of  the  land  affected,  of  like  rights,  if  desired  by  them,  as  deter- 
mined and  ascertained  by  the  Congress. 

"3)  The  securing  and  protection  of  Jewish  rights  in  Palestine. 

"No  resolution  shall  be  introduced,  considered  or  acted  upon  at 
the  Congress  which  shall  in  any  way  purport  or  tend  to  commit  the 
Congress  as  a  body,  or  any  of  its  delegates  or  any  of  the  communities 
or  organizations  which  shall  be  represented  therein,  to  the  adoption, 
recognition  or  endorsement  of  any  general  theory  or  philosophy  of 
Jewish  life,  or  any  theoretical  principle  of  a  racial,  political,  economic, 
or  religious  character,  or  which  shall  involve  the  perpetuation  of  such 
Congress. 

"The  calling  and  holding  of  the  Congress  shall  in  no  manner 
affect  the  autonomy  of  any  existing  American  Jewish  organizations, 
but  in  so  far  as  the  Executive  Committee  selected  by  such  Congress 
shall  take  action  for  the  securing  of  Jewish  rights  as  defined  in  the 
Call  for  such  Congress,  the  activities  of  such  Executive  Committee 
shall,  during  the  period  of  its  existence,  be  regarded  as  having  prece- 
dence over  those  of  any  other  organizations  which  shall  participate 
in  such  Congress." 

This  seemed  to  tie  the  hands  of  the  Zionists  in  certain  respects. 
However,  it  proved  a  triumph  for  them.  At  a  meeting  at  the  Hotel 
Savoy,  New  York,  December  25,  1916,  the  machinery  for  the  Congress 
was  finally  and  fully  set  in  motion.  Soon  after  the  acceptance  of  the 
agreement,  elections  were  held  throughout  the  country.  For  the 
first  time  American  Jewry  acted  as  an  organized  unit.  The  returns 
from  these  elections  showed  an  overwhelming  majority  for  the  Zion- 
ists. This  was  a  surprise  to  some  who  had  not  realized  how 
deeply  Zionism  had  permeated  among  the  masses  of  the  American 
Jews.  The  Congress  itself,  however,  had  to  be  postponed,  owing  to 
the  entrance  of  America  into  the  war.  America  having  lost  its  posi- 
tion as  a  neutral  country,  the  immediate  purpose  of  the  Congress 
could  not  be  served.  Too  great  agitation  at  that  time  would  have 
been  dangerous  to  Jews  in  some  of  the  occupied  countries. 

With  the  cessation  of  war  the  Administrative  Committee  of  the 
American  Jewish  Congress  immediately  planned  to  resume  its  activity. 
The  National  Executive  Committee  of  the  Zionist  Organization,  meet- 
ing just  before  it,  felt  the  necessity,  under  the  vastly  changed  condi- 
tions, to  make  recommendations  to  the  American  Jewish  Congress 
Committee,  of  which  it  was  a  constituent  part.  In  honor  bound  to 
stand    by   their    agreement    and    the    decisions    of    the    Congress,    the 

94 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

Zionists  faced  that  obligation  with  some  fears  and  anxieties.  Later 
events  proved  these  to  be  wholly  groundless. 

So  precarious  and  so  rapidly  changing  were  international  condi- 
tions that  only  on  the  evening  before  the  convening  of  the  Administra- 
tive Committee  of  the  American  Jewish  Congress  did  the  National 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Zionist  Organization  take  action  in  regard 
to  its  own  attitude  toward  the  Congress.  Its  recommendation  to  the 
Congress  Committee  was  as  follows: 

"The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Z.  O.  A.  is  of  the  opinion  that 
the  American  Jewish  Congress  should  be  convened  at  the  earliest 
possible  date.  In  view  of  the  British  Declaration  addressed  to  the 
Zionist  Organization  and  of  its  endorsement  by  other  governments, 
and  in  view  of  the  great  political  changes  in  Europe  since  the  call  for 
the  Congress,  fundamentally  affecting  the  status  of  the  Jews,  the 
Executive  Committee  of  the  Z.  O.  A.  believes  that  the  Congress  should 
take  the  necessary  action  with  regard  to  its  program  that  is  required 
by  the  changed  conditions." 

The  Administrative  Committee  of  the  American  Jewish  Congress 
was  fully  in  accord  with  this  resolution.  The  Congress  was  called 
for  and  convened  in  Philadelphia  on  December  15th.  About  four 
hundred  delegates  came  from  all  parts  of  the  United  States.  A  won- 
derful spirit  animated  the  meetings.  American  Jewry  seemed  to  have 
emerged  from  the  parochial  into  the  political  state.  Despite  the  great 
diversity  of  the  groups  represented,  including  spokesmen  of  the  American 
Jewish  Committee  and  of  the  workmen's  organizations,  the  chief  resolu- 
tions were  practically  unanimously  adopted.  The  resolution  on 
Palestine  was  acclaimed  by  an  enthusiastic  ovation,  and  it  was  some 
time  before  the  delegates  could  be  persuaded  to  calm  down  sufficiently 
to  take  a  vote.  When  that  vote  was  taken — a  rising  vote — only  two 
delegates  remained  seated.  There  followed  also  a  resolution  on  inter- 
national rights.  By  these  resolutions  the  weight  of  American  Jewry 
has  been  put  on  the  side  of  a  League  of  Nations,  and  of  that  demo- 
cratic organization  of  the  world  which  is  absolutely  necessary  to 
Jewish  well-being  and  to  human  well-being. 

Resolutions  Adopted  by  the  Congress 

The  following  are  the  resolutions  adopted : 

"Resolved,  that  the  American  Jewish  Congress  instruct  their 
delegation  to  Europe  to  co-operate  with  other  representatives  of  other 
Jewish  organizations,  and  specifically  with  the  World  Zionist  Organ- 
ization, to  the  end  that  the  Peace  Conference  may  recognize  the 

95 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

aspirations  and  historic  claims  of  the  Jewish,  people  in  regard  to 
Palestine,  and  declare  that  in  accordance  with  the  British  Govern- 
ment's declaration  of  November  2,  1917,  endorsed  by  the  Allied  Gov- 
ernments and  the  President  of  the  United  States,  there  shall  be 
established  such  political,  administrative  and  economic  conditions  in 
Palestine  as  will  assure  under  the  trusteeship  of  Great  Britain,  acting 
on  behalf  of  such  a  League  of  Nations  as  may  be  formed,  the  develop- 
ment of  Palestine  into  a  Jewish  Commonwealth,  it  being  clearly  under- 
stood that  nothing  shall  be  done  which  shall  prejudice  the  civil  and 
religious  rights  of  existing  non-Jewish  communities  in  Palestine  or 
the  rights  and  political  status  enjoyed  by  Jews  in  any  other  country." 

"Resolved,  that  the  American  Jewish  Congress  respectfully 
requests  the  Peace  Conference  to  insert  in  the  treaty  of  peace  as  con- 
ditions precedent  to  the  creation  of  the  new  or  enlarged  states  which 
it  is  proposed  to  call  into  being  that  express  provision  be  made  a  part 
of  the  constitutions  of  such  states  before  they  shall  be  finally  recog- 
nized as  states  by  the  signatories  of  the  treaty,  as  follows : 

"1.     All   inhabitants   of   the   territory   of ,   including   such 

persons  together  with  their  families,  who  subsequent  to  Aug.  1,  1914, 
fled,  removed,  or  were  expelled  therefrom,  and  who  shall,  within  ten 
years  from  the  adoption  of  this  provision,  return  thereto,  shall  for  all 
purposes  be  citizens  thereof,  provided,  however,  that  such  as  have 
heretofore  been  subjects  of  other  states,  who  desire  to  retain  their 
allegiance  to   such   states  or  assume  allegiance  to   their   successor 

states,  to  the  exclusion  of  citizenship  may  do  so  by  a  formal 

declaration  to  be  made  within  a  specified  period. 

"2.  For  a  period  of  ten  years  from  the  adoption  of  this  provision 
no  law  shall  be  enacted  restricting  any  former  inhabitant  of  a  state 

which  included  the  territory  of from  taking  up  his  residence 

in  and  thereby  acquiring  citizenship  therein. 

"3.  All  citizens  of ,  without  distinction  as  to  race,  nation- 
ality or  creed,  shall  enjoy  equal  civil,  political,  religious,  and  national 
rights,  and  no  law  shall  be  enacted  or  enforced  which  shall  abridge 
the  privileges  or  immunities  of,  or  impose  upon  any  person  any  dis- 
crimination, disability,  or  restriction  whatsoever  on  account  of  race, 
nationality,  or  religion,  or  deny  to  any  person  the  equal  protection  of 
the  laws. 

"4.  The  principle  of  minority  representation  shall  be  provided 
for  by  law. 

"5.  The  members  of  the  various  national  as  well  as  religious 
bodies  of shall  be  accorded  autonomous  management  of  their 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

own  communal  institutions  whether  they  be  religious,  educational, 
charitable,  or  otherwise. 

"6.  No  law  shall  be  enacted  restricting  the  use  of  any  language, 
and  all  existing  laws  declaring  such  prohibition  are  repealed,  nor  shall 
any  language  test  be  established. 

"7.  Those  who  observe  any  other  than  the  first  day  of  the  week 
as  their  Sabbath  shall  not  be  prohibited  from  pursuing  their  secular 
affairs  on  any  day  other  than  that  which  they  observe ;  nor  shall  they 
be  required  to  perform  any  acts  on  their  Sabbath  or  holy  days  which 
they  shall  regard  as  a  desecration  thereof." 

Note  that  the  word  "Jew"  is  not  specifically  used  in  this  resolu- 
tion, as  the  appeal  is  based  on  common  human  justice. 

Jewish  Representatives  to  Europe 

The  chief  task  of  the  Congress  was  to  elect  a  Committee  to  pro- 
ceed to  Europe  to  carry  out  the  mandates  of  the  Congress,  and  which  would 
upon  its  return,  reconvene  the  Congress.  This  Committee  consisted  of  the 
following : 

Judge  Julian  W.  Mack,  President  of  the  Zionist  Organization, 
who  had  been  chosen  Chairman  of  the  Congress,  Rabbi  Stephen  S. 
Wise,  Louis  Marshall,  Jacob  deHaas,  Executive  Secretary  of  the 
Zionist  Organization,  Nahum  Syrkin,  one  of  the  representative  Poale 
Zion,  Joseph  Barondess,  Morris  Winchevsky,  Col.  Harry  Cutler,  Rabbi 
B.  L.  Levinthal,  and  Bernard  G.  Richards,  as  Secretary.  Action  was 
also  taken  upon  the  Polish  situation,  the  Poles  having  protested  that 
they  were  guiltless  of  the  massacres  in  Galicia,  and  having  asked  that 
a  delegation  of  six,  two  Jews,  two  Poles,  and  two  Americans,  be  sent  to 
investigate.  Judge  Mack  and  Mr.  Marshall  were  authorized  to  name  the 
two  Jewish  delegates. 

Growth  of  American  Zionism 

American  Zionism  was  meeting  its  tremendous  responsibilities. 
From  a  mere  handful  of  about  20,000  shekel  payers  before  the  war, 
they  had  increased  to  150,000  in  1917,  and  in  the  new  District  Organ- 
izations over  171,000  were  enrolled  by  April,  1920;  that  means  171,000 
Jews  who  pay  two  dollars  a  year  to  the  Zionist  Organization  of 
America.  Also  a  spirit  of  understanding  was  gradually  penetrating 
the  masses. 

Zionist  Demands 

The  resolution  in  regard  to  Palestine  adopted  by  the  Jewish  Con- 

97 


GUIDE     TO      ZIONISM 

gress,  which  was  representative  of  the  Jews  of  America,  made  plain 
to  all  the  world  what  the  Zionists  expected  of  the  Peace  Conference. 
Similar  resolutions  have  since  been  passed  by  representative  Jewish 
bodies  in  other  countries.  The  demand  for  British  trusteeship,  and  in 
fact  the  phrasing  of  the  whole  resolution,  had  been  strongly  influenced 
by  cable  messages  from  the  Zionists  of  Great  Britain.  In  Paris,  Chaim 
Weizmann  (returned  from  Palestine),  Nahum  Sokolow,  Dr.  Wise 
and  others  were  in  constant  touch  with  the  Peace  Delegates.  Early 
in  1919  a  Zionist  Bureau  was  established  in  Paris,  which  became  the 
headquarters  for  all  Jewish  activities  at  the  Peace  Conference. 

From  the  Maccabaean  Magazine,  March,  1919 

"We  laid  our  claims  before  the  'Council  of  Ten,'  on  the  twenty- 
seventh  day  of  Adar  Rishon  5679,  which  will  remain  the  most  impor- 
tant day  in  the  annals  of  our  history  since  our  dispersion."  Such  is  the 
opening  sentence  of  a  message  to  the  Zionist  Conference  in  London, 
signed  by  the  three  Zionist  diplomatic  representatives,  Weizmann, 
Sokolow  and  Ussischkin. 

The  Zionist  Conference  in  London  opened  on  Tuesday,  February 
24th,  with  representatives  from  the  Allies  and  neutral  countries  and 
a  special  delegation  from  Palestine. 

The  first  report  of  what  took  place  at  this  conference  reflected 
a  certain  amount  of  dissatisfaction  in  a  number  of  the  delegates  with 
what  they  considered  the  modesty  of  the  claims  of  the  Zionist  diplo- 
matic representatives  in  Paris.  Then  came  the  appearance  before 
the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Zionist  representatives,  the  results  of 
which  were  hailed  with  general  satisfaction. 

The  Zionist  delegation  consisted  of  Dr.  Weizmann,  Nahum 
Sokolow,  M.  M.  Ussischkin  and  Andre  Spire.  Prof.  Sylvain  Levi 
also  appeared,  but  not  as  a  member  of  the  Zionist  delegation.  In  a 
powerful  speech  which  lasted  only  six  minutes,  Nahum  Sokolow  laid 
before  the  world's  representatives  the  picture  of  the  twenty  centuries 
of  wandering  of  the  Jewish  people.  Weizmann  followed,  and  in  a 
speech  of  equal  length,  emphasized  the  point  that  the  war  had  left 
the  Jews  in  a  more  precarious  plight  than  any  other  people.  Ussischkin 
addressed  the  council  as  a  representative  of  the  Ukrainian  Jews.  He 
spoke  in  Hebrew.  He  thus  demonstrated  to  the  Powers  of  the  world 
that  Hebrew  is  a  living  language.  A  discordant  note  was  introduced 
by  Prof.  Sylvain  Levi,  who  spoke  as  a  representative  of  the  French 
Jews,  and  after  paying  a  tribute  to  the  achievements  of  the  Zionists 
in  Palestine,  proceeded  to  belittle  the  larger  claims  of  Zionism  and  cast 


THE  WAR  AND  ZIONIST  POLITICAL  ACTION 

reflections  on  the  character  of  the  East  European  Jews.  He  was  the 
last  speaker,  officially,  but  fortunately  his  speech  was  not  permitted 
to  create  the  final  impression.  Secretary  Lansing  took  the  initiative, 
and  by  asking  Weizmann  a  question,  he  gave  him  the  opportunity  to 
speak  again  and  remove  the  painful  impression  which  Prof.  Levi's  speech 
had  created. 

No  opposition  was  advanced  by  any  of  the  nations  represented 
in  the  council  to  the  claims  of  the  Zionists.  Mr.  Balfour  took  occasion 
to  congratulate  the  Zionist  representatives  on  the  results  they  had 
achieved,  and  M.  Andre  Tardieu,  representative  of  the  French  Gov- 
ernment, made  the  following  statement: 

"There  is  not  the  slightest  difference  of  opinion  among  the  great 
Powers  on  the  establishment  of  a  Zionist  State  nor  on  giving  Great 
Britain  the  mandatary." 

To  the  record  of  these  reiterations  of  assurances  from  the  Powers 
should  be  added  the  statement  made  by  President  Wilson  to  the  dele- 
gation of  the  American  Jewish  Congress : 

"/  have  before  this  expressed  my  personal  approval  of  the  Decla- 
ration of  the  British  Government  regarding  the  aspirations  and  historic 
claims  of  the  Jewish  people  in  regard  to  Palestine.  I  am,  moreover, 
persuaded  that  the  Allied  nations  with  the  fullest  concurrence  of  our 
own  Government  and  people  are  agreed  that  in  Palestine  shall  be  laid 
the  foundations  of  a  Jewish  Commonwealth." 

There  should  also  be  added  a  letter  from  Emir  Feisal,  heir- 
apparent  to  the  throne  of  Hedjaz,  to  Professor  Felix  Frankfurter,  one 
of  the  Zionist  representatives  in  Paris  wherein  the  Prince  sets  at  rest 
all  doubts  as  to  the  position  of  the  Arabian  people  in  the  following 
statement : 

"We  Arabs  look  with  the  deepest  sympathy  on  the  Zionist  movement. 
Our  deputation  in  Paris  is  fully  acquainted  with  the  proposals  submitted 
by  the  Zionists  to  the  Peace  Conference,  and  regards  them  as  moderate 
and  proper.  We  will  do  our  best  to  help  them  through,  and  wish  the  Jews 
a  most  hearty  welcome  home." 

In  an  interview  Dr.  Weizmann  gave  to  the  press  after  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Zionist  delegation  before  the  "Council  of  Ten,"  he  stated : 

"We  have  obtained  full  recognition  of  the  historic  title  of  the 
Jewish  people  in  Palestine  and  of  the  Jewish  right  to  constitute  a 
National  Home  there." 

The  claims  of  the  Zionist  delegates  as  they  are  briefly  communi- 
cated in  the  official  communication  to  the  London  Zionist  Conference 
contain   everything  that   may   now   be   demanded:    full  recognition   of 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

our  historic  claims  in  Palestine;  the  assurance  of  an  independent 
Jewish  Commonwealth  as  soon  as  the  Jews  in  Palestine  will  consti- 
tute a  majority  of  the  population  and  will  be  able  to  dispense  with 
their  mandatory ;  the  creation  of  such  conditions  under  the  trusteeship 
of  England  as  will  fulfill  the  desire  of  Jewish  development  in  Palestine 
as  soon  as  possible;  the  recognition,  as  one  of  the  principal  conditions, 
of  a  Jewish  Council  which  is  to  have  from  the  beginning  a  voice  in  the 
administration  of  the  country  and  receive  all  necessary  concessions 
to  further  the  development  of  Jewish  immigration  on  a  large  scale; 
the  immediate  recognition  of  the  Hebrew  language  and  the  Jewish 
Sabbath  and  holidays;  and,  finally,  the  determination  of  the  bounda- 
ries of  Palestine  as  they  were  in  the  reign  of  King  Solomon :  from  the 
Lebanon  in  the  north  to  the  boundary  of  Egypt  and  the  port  of  Akabah 
in  the  south,  and  to  the  east  the  whole  of  Transjordania  as  far  as  the 
Hedjaz  railroad,  which  includes  the  Bashan  and  Gilead. 

The  London  Conference  to  whom  the  Zionist  delegates  reported 
the  success  of  their  mission,  received  this  report  with  a  remarkable 
demonstration.  The  delegates  rose  from  their  seats  and  pronounced 
the  benediction,  "Who  hath  permitted  us  to  live  and  preserved  us  until 
this  season."  All  parties  expressed  satisfaction  and  confidence  in  the 
delegates. 

References: 

Israel,  by  William  Hard.     Publications  of  the  American  Jewish  Congress  Com- 
mittee.    A  Jewish  Palestine,  by  H.  Sacher. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  American  Jewish  Congress.    Comments  on  the  Zionist  budget  for  Palestine. 


100 


CHAPTER  XV 

FACTIONS    AND    TENDENCIES     IN    ZIONISM* 

Parliamentary  government,  in  nearly  every  instance,  presents  a 
scene  in  which  three  contending-  groups  are  actors — the  Right,  the 
Left,  and  the  Center.  The  latter  represents,  usually,  the  views  of  the 
majority  of  the  population,  but  it  must  be  ever  ready  to  face  a  struggle 
with  either  of  the  wings — with  the  Right,  who  represent  the  ultra- 
conservative  forces  in  the  nation,  and  the  Left,  or  the  champions  of 
radicalism.  It  is  the  constant  struggle  between  the  Right  and  the  Left 
that  usually  offers  the  opportunity  for  the  growth  of  the  Center 
party,  which  works  as  the  "administration." 

A  famous  radical  philosopher  once  declared  that  the  members  of 
the  Left — except  in  short  periods  of  revolution — can  never  be  the 
rulers  of  a  nation,  because  just  as  soon  as  any  theory  or  policy  becomes 
sufficiently  popular  to  receive  the  support  of  the  majority,  the  clever 
politicians  and  administrators,  who  are  nearly  always  found  in  the 
Center  party  controlling  the  government,  will  proceed  to  appropriate 
the  ideas,  and  to  "steal  the  thunder"  of  their  opponents  in  order  to 
keep  themselves  in  power.  In  this  view,  it  is  the  chief  function  of  the 
Left  to  prepare  the  minds  of  men  for  the  radical  changes  which  the 
Center  party  ultimately  enacts  into  legislation.  In  short,  the  strength 
of  the  Left  is  in  denunciation  and  in  theorizing,  of  the  Center,  in  actual 
administration,  and  it  might  be  added,  of  the  Right,  in  traditionalism. 

The  Poale  Zion 

The  Zionist  Congress,  as  a  parliamentary  body,  has  developed 
more  or  less  along  these  lines,  with  the  so-called  "general  Zionists"  in 
the  Center,  for  though  the  Mizrahi  (or  Orthodox  group)  is  religious 
and  not  political  in  its  conservatism,  and  so  can  hardly  be  called  the 
Right,  the  Poale  Zion  (or  Labor  party)  might  well  be  called  the  Left. 
As  early  as  the  seventh  Zionist  Congress,  in  1905,  the  Poale  Zion  was 
recognized  as  a  "Fraktion"  (or  party)  within  the  International  Zionist 
Congress.  This  party  represents  the  Socialist  element  in  Zionism. 
But  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  regard  Poale  Zionism  as  merely  Socialism 
within   the  Zionist   Organization.     The  Poale   Zionist  is   a   Jew   who 

*  By  Bernard  A.  Rosenblatt  and  the  Editor. 

101 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

endorses  the  Zionist  program,  who  not  only  interprets  that  program 
in  accordance  with  Socialist  ideals,  but  who  supplements  and  "cor- 
rects" that  program  so  as  to  fit  in  with  his  concept  of  what  a  Jewish 
State  ought  to  be.  Poale  Zionism  is  not  something  added  to  Zionism — 
it  is  a  different  kind  of  Zionism.  Perhaps  nothing  illustrates  this 
so  vividly  as  the  following  quotations  from  a  pamphlet  on  the  Aims  of 
Jewish  Labor,  prepared  by  the  Poale  Zion  of  America,  and  issued  in  the 
early  part  of  1918 : 

"There  are  two  fundamental  causes  which  are  responsible  for  the 
peculiar  condition  and  the  unusual  sufferings  of  the  Jewish  masses. 

"These  causes  lie  at  the  basis  of  modern  society  in  general  and 
the  world  position  of  Jewry  in  particular.     .     .     . 

"These  fundamental  causes  are: 

"1)  Capitalism  as  a  system  of  production,  and 

"2)  Lack  of  a  Jewish-national  economic  system.    .    .    . 

"The  all-embracing  aim  of  Poale  Zionism  is  to  free  the  Jewish 
worker  both  as  proletarian  and  as  Jew :  to  set  up  a  free  Jewish  nation  in  a 
family  of  equal  and  class-free  peoples.     .     .     . 

"The  Poale  Zion  is  a  separate  organization  of  the  Jewish  work- 
ing class  which  carries  on  its  activity  in  behalf  of  social  freedom  and 
national  liberty  quite  independently,  joining  the  Zionist  movement 
as  a  distinct  party  and  recognized  as  such  by  the  constitution  of  the 
International  Zionist  Congress. 

"If  occasion  or  policy  demands,  the  Poale  Zion  unite  temporarily 
or  for  specific  purposes  with  other  groups  at  the  Zionist  Congress, 
just  as  Socialists  do  in  any  National  Assembly  or  Parliament.    .    .    ." 

The  Poale  Zion  is  allowed  representation  in  the  Larger  Actions 
Committee,  but  is  not  entitled,  as  a  matter  of  course,  to  party  representa- 
tion in  the  Inner  Actions  Committee,  which  actually  administers  Zionist 
affairs  during  the  periods  between  Congresses.  This  is  proper, 
because,  while  there  may  be  differences  of  opinion  upon  legislation 
and  policies,  the  administrators  or  those  who  are  to  carry  out  policies 
must  be  chosen  entirely  from  the  point  of  view  of  personal  fitness 
irrespective  of  party  affiliation. 

In  Palestine,  the  Poale  Zion  may  be  regarded  as  the  Socialist  and 
labor  party  of  the  future  Jewish  State.  It  has  helped  to  organize 
Jewish  farm  labor  there,  which  has  a  strong  union.  The  party  has 
encouraged  the  growth  of  co-operative  farming  colonies  and  of  co-opera- 
tive labor  groups.  It  has  published  a  workman's  journal,  Ha-ahdut, 
and  is  active  in  the  co-operative  Society  of  Shomerim  or  Jewish  police 
force.    During  the  war  the  Poale  Zion  has  striven,  with  great  success, 

102 


GENERAL  ALLENBY'S   ENTRANCE   INTO  JERUSALEM 


FACTIONS  AND  TENDENCIES  IN  ZIONISM 

to  win  the  support  of  the  various  Socialist  and  Labor  parties  through- 
out the  world,  toward  the  establishment  of  a  Jewish  State  in  Palestine. 
In  the  words  of  the  pamphlet  referred  to  above,  the  Aims  of  Jewish 
Labor: 

"The  Poale  Zion  Confederation  was  officially  invited  to  participate 
in  the  deliberations  of  the  International  Socialist  Conference  which 
was  to  have  been  held  at  Stockholm,  June,  1917.  Thus  we  were  placed 
on  a  par  with  all  the  other  Socialist  elements  of  the  world ;  thus  also 
the  Jews  were  recognized  by  the  Socialist  International  as  a  separate 
and  distinct  nation  with  its  own  specific  problems  and  its  own  legiti- 
mate Socialist  representatives. 

"The  Holland-Scandinavian  Socialist  Committee  has  in  its  Peace 
Manifesto  of  October,  1917,  made  the  fundamental  demands  of  Poale 
Zionism  its  own  in  the  following  language : 

"  'The  International  solution  of  the  Jewish  problem ;  personal- 
national  autonomy  in  Russia,  Austria,  Roumania,  and  Poland,  where 
the  Jews  live  in  compact  masses;  security  and  protection  of  Jewish 
colonization  in  Palestine.'     .     .     . 

"The  Socialist  Party  of  England  and  the  Independent  Socialists 
of  Germany  have  upon  several  occasions  pledged  their  support  to  the 
Poale  Zionists.    .    .    ." 

In  this  way  the  Poale  Zion  has  rendered  a  definite  service  to  the 
Zionist  movement  in  that  it  has  won  for  us  the  support  of  radical 
groups  the  world  over. 

The  Mizrahi 

The  Mizrahi,  or  Orthodox  party,  was  formally  recognized  by  the 
Zionist  Actions  Committee  in  1903.  As  the  Poale  Zion  would  convert 
political  Zionism  into  a  social  movement,  so  the  Mizrahi  would  trans- 
form it  into  a  religious  movement.  There  is  no  inherent  opposition 
between  the  Poale  Zion  and  the  Mizrahi,  for  we  can  conceive  of  a 
member  of  the  Poale  Zion  who  is  a  Socialist,  being  also  a  religious 
Zionist.  It  has  even  happened  at  the  Congress  that  the  two  parties 
voted  together  against  the  Center.  But,  roughly  speaking,  the  two 
parties  represent  respectively  the  radical  and  the  conservative  forces 
in  Zionism,  and  one  who  refuses  to  work  as  a  "general"  Zionist  must 
choose  between  the  two  factions.  This  is  perhaps  one  of  the  strongest 
reasons  for  the  majority  of  Zionists  remaining  members  of  the  Center 
(or  "general  Zionist")  since,  as  such,  they  may  entertain  the  most 
radical  outlook  on  the  social  question,  and  yet  combine  with  it  the 
most  Orthodox  interpretation  of  Judaism.     As  a  member  of  either 

103 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

of  the  two  parties,  a  Zionist  must  perforce  subordinate  one  to  the 
other.  Also,  there  are  many  who  consider  the  division  into  parties  in 
advance  of  a  national  government  as  a  weakening  of  the  movement 
and  as  a  danger  to  undivided  loyalty  to  the  nationalist  cause. 

A  Mizrahist  is  a  Zionist  who  accepts  the  whole  of  the  Jewish 
religion  including  the  laws  and  their  authoritative  interpretation 
(from  the  Talmud  and  the  Rabbis),  as  the  necessary  counterpart  of 
his  Zionism.  The  Zionist  movement  itself  is  in  the  eyes  of  the 
Mizrahist  merely  the  necessary  logical  step  in  the  upbuilding  of  a  Jewish 
national  religious  life  in  Palestine.  The  Mizrahist  regards  Jewish  nation- 
alism as  part  and  parcel  of  Jewish  religion.  He  hopes  for  an  ultimate 
theocracy  in  Palestine. 

The  Mizrahi  roots  deep  in  the  beginnings  of  Zionism,  for  some 
of  the  first  pioneers  in  Jewish  nationalism  were  men  who  belonged  to 
Orthodox  Jewry.  Rabbi  Hirsch  Kalischer  regarded  the  planting  of 
Jewish  colonies  on  the  soil  of  Erez  Israel  as  part  of  the  religious  duty 
of  the  Jew,  and  Rabbi  Samuel  Mohilever  of  Bialystock,  Russia,  the 
famous  exponent  of  religious  Zionism,  joined  Herzl  at  the  very  foun- 
dation of  the  Zionist  movement.  Zionism  is  an  expression  of  the 
national  will-to-live  and,  like  the  will-to-live  of  the  individual,  it  can 
be  reconciled  with  every  shade  of  belief.  For  2,000  years  this  will 
was  concentrated  in  Jewish  religious  life.  The  Orthodox  Jew  would 
therefore  seem  the  most  open  to  Zionist  influence.  But  this  is  not  the 
case.  Much  opposition  comes  from  the  Orthodox  on  the  ground  that 
we  must  not  force  the  hand  of  Providence,  but  must  wait  for  a 
miraculous  redeemer  from  God.  The  Mizrahi  by  their  very  existence 
refute  this  argument.  Following  the  leadership  of  Hirsch  Kalischer 
in  this  matter,  they  hold  that  the  Messiah  will  come  only  after  tKe 
Jews  have  done  their  duty  by  resettling  Palestine.  Since  the  Jews 
were  given  many  religious  commands  that  can  be  obeyed  only  in 
Palestine,  the  first  religious  duty  of  the  Jew  must  be  to  attempt  to 
live  there,  and  there  to  replant  his  people. 

The  co-operation  of  the  Mizrahi  with  the  general  movement  has 
always  been  tinged  with  resentment  at  all  purely  economic,  social, 
national,  or  even  cultural  interpretations  of  Zionism  that  ignore  the 
religious  aspect.  So,  too,  they  mistrust  the  leadership  of  men  who 
are  non-religious. 

Rabbi  Jacob  Reines  of  Lida,  who  founded  the  Mizrahi  in  Febru- 
ary, 1903,  also  brought  about  co-operation  with  the  general  Zionist 
movement  and  representation  at  the  following  Congress,  which  has 
continued  ever  since.    Amidst  all  the  disputes  that  have  arisen  between 

104 


FACTIONS  AND  TENDENCIES  IN  ZIONISM 

the  Mizrahi  and  the  Zionist  Organization,  there  has  been  preserved, 
at  all  times,  a  certain  spirit  of  co-operation.  Believing  that  education 
is  the  groundwork  of  a  national  life,  the  Mizrahi  have  made  Palestinian 
education  their  chief  concern.  They  have  opposed  the  subsidizing  of 
secular  schools,  such  as  the  Hebrew  Gymnasium  at  Jaffa.  They  have 
established  their  own  school  at  Jaffa,  the  Tahkemoni.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  this  Orthodox  high  school  educates  only  boys,  whereas 
the  Gymnasium  is  co-educational. 

Like  the  Poale  Zion,  the  Mizrahi  are  not  entitled,  as  a  matter  of  right, 
to  representation  on  the  Inner  Actions  Committee,  but  it  has  several 
members  on  the  Larger  Actions  Committee.  The  chief  value  of  the 
Mizrahi  lies  in  its  propaganda  among  pious  Jews,  who  form  a  majority 
of  the  Jews.  It  links  Zionism  with  Orthodox  Judaism,  and  therefore  is 
in  a  position  to  enlist  the  support  of  congregations  and  synagogues  for 
work  for  the  Jewish  State  in  Palestine.  It  is  valuable  as  the  bridge  be- 
tween the  Zionism  of  the  parents  and  the  Zionism  of  the  second  genera- 
tion. Through  its  support  of  Hebrew  and  Jewish  learning  as  a  necessary 
part  in  the  redemption  of  Palestine,  it  insures  to  the  older  genera- 
tion a  Zionism  that  is  not  a  mere  youthful  enthusiasm  without  any 
roots  in  the  past,  but  a  necessary  and  desirable  development  in  tradi- 
tional Judaism.  Broadly  considered,  we  might  say  that,  while  the 
general  Zionist  represents  the  present,  with  its  political  and  practical 
problems  for  Palestine,  and  while  the  Poale  Zion  might  be  regarded 
as  the  harbinger  of  the  future,  the  Mizrahi  is  our  link  with  the  past,  and 
aims  to  insure  that  our  progress  shall  be  in  line  with  the  whole  of 
Jewish  history. 

0 

Cultural  Zionism 

Besides  the  parties,  there  are  other  tendencies  not  crystallized  into 
parties,  which  have  had  a  shaping  influence  in  the  development  of 
Zionism.  The  most  important  of  these  has  been  named  "Cultural 
Zionism,"  and  its  chief  exponent  is  Ahad  Ha-Am.  (See  Ch.  XVII.) 
The  movement  for  cultural  Hebraic  development  was  a  natural  out- 
growth of  the  Haskalah  (see  Ch.  V),  with  its  emphasis  on  Hebraism. 
It  accentuates  Jewish  learning  and  social  ideals,  not  traditional  reli- 
gion. Cultural  Zionism  emphasizes  the  need  of  preparing  the  Jews  for 
Palestine — by  Hebrew  education,  the  study  of  Jewish  history  and  the 
upbuilding  of  the  Hebraic  character — even  as  we  must  prepare  Pales- 
tine for  the  Jews.  This  type  of  Zionism  won  many  adherents  among 
those  who  until  recently  regarded  the  practical  plan  for  a  Jewish 
State  as  chimerical,  for  even  those  who  scoffed  at  political  Zionism  saw 

105 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

the  value  of  cultural  Zionism.  Many  have  been  induced  to  give 
large  sums  for  Palestinian  purposes,  though  they  have  refused  to 
endorse  the  political  Zionist  program.  But  since  the  Declaration  on 
Zionism  by  Great  Britain  on  November  2,  1917,  and  its  subsequent 
endorsement  by  the  Allies,  Zionism  is  no  longer  only  a  dream  of  the 
idealists.  It  has  become  a  practical  question  of  world  politics.  It 
is  therefore  not  surprising  that  those  who  were  attracted  by  cultural 
Zionism,  but  who  had  refused  to  endorse  the  Zionist  movement,  should 
now  give  it  their  full  support.  Many  such  "delayed"  Zionists  are  now 
giving  yeoman's  service  in  the  Organization.  So,  too,  all  opposition 
between  Cultural  and  Political  Zionism  has  disappeared,  and  both  are 
recognized  as  necessary  phases  of  renationalization. 

Political  and  Practical  Zionism 

What  was  for  many  years  the  center  of  Zionist  politics,  the 
struggle  for  control  of  the  Congress,  without  definite  party  organiza- 
tion, between  the  "Practicals,"  descended  from  the  old  Hoveve  Zion 
and  the  "Politicals,"  or  Herzlian  Zionists,  has  also  ended  through  the 
eventualities  of  war  in  a  strong  union  of  purpose.  (See  Ch.  X.)  Since 
the  Balfour  Declaration,  Political  and  Practical  have  the  same  mean- 
ing; colonization  and  guarantees  must  now  go  hand  in  hand. 

The  Yiddishists 

Another  tendency  in  Zionism,  which  is  of  utmost  importance  for 
the  future  of  Palestine,  is  the  "Yiddishist"  movement.  It  is  not 
thoroughly  organized,  and  represents  only  a  tendency.  It  gathers  its 
strength  largely  through  a  certain  inertia.  About  half  of  the  Jews 
of  the  world  are  now  speaking  Yiddish,  and  therefore  we  have  a  con- 
dition conducive  to  the  acceptance  of  Yiddish  as  the  Jewish  language 
of  Palestine  in  the  future;  for  that  is  the  "easy  way".  Of  course, 
some  of  the  Yiddishists  also  have  their  philosophy. 

The  Zionist  Yiddishists  are  a  cross  current,  as  it  were,  from  a 
Jewish  national  tendency  which  is  not  at  all  Zionist  but  opposed  to 
Zionism.  Indeed,  the  scattered  Jewish  people,  comprising  14,000,000 
of  fairly  intelligent  and  generally  educated  individuals,  is  seething 
with  all  manner  of  social  and  political  currents.  It  is  this  which 
makes  Jewish  life  so  interesting  and  stimulating  and  worth  while. 
Hitherto  anti-Zionist,  this  Jewish  national  idea  is  held  by  the  fol- 
lowers of  S.  M.  Dubnow,  in  Russia,  who  maintain  that  the  Jews  are 
a  nation  wherever  they  may  live  and  that  they  should  claim  national 
rights  in  their  present  abodes.  To  them,  Yiddish  is  the  national 
Jewish  language  because  Jews  speak  it.    Palestine,  when  it  becomes 

106 


FACTIONS  AND  TENDENCIES  IN  ZIONISM 

Jewish,  will  be  to  them  simply  an  annex,  another  Jewish  abode  where 
of  course  Yiddish  must  also  be  spoken.  They  ignore  the  fact  that 
great  masses  of  Jews,  notably  the  Spanish  Ladino-speaking  Jews  of 
the  Orient,  and  large  numbers  of  West  European  and  American  Jews 
do  not  know  Yiddish  at  all. 

The  Zionist  position  is  an  opposite  one.  To  Zionists,  Yiddish  is  a 
"Golus"  speech  developed  by  the  abnormal  conditions  of  Jewish  life. 
Dear  as  it  may  be  to  some  of  them,  with  the  homely  charm  of  a  folk 
tongue,  it  has  the  ear-marks  of  slavery  and  of  forced  adaptiveness. 
The  effort  to  Hebraize  German  has  had  some  curious  results.  The 
two  languages  have  an  opposite  character  and  construction.  Hence 
the  strange  consequence  that,  whereas  Hebrew  is  one  of  the  most  concise 
of  languages  both  as  spoken  and  written,  Yiddish  is  one  of  the  most 
long-winded.  Zionists  have  proven,  in  Palestine,  the  correctness  of  their 
position.  Hebrew  is  already  the  living  language  of  the  Palestinian  Jews. 
It  alone  can  unite  all  Jews;  its  dignity  makes  it  dear  to  a  liberated 
people;  it  has  the  straightforward  simplicity  that  expresses  the  soul 
of  a  people  coming  upright  into  its  own  land.  And  it  is  at  home  in 
the  Orient,  which  Yiddish  never  could  be.  Hebrew  is  first  cousin  to 
Arabic.  For  Zionists  and  Palestinians  the  question  is  decided.  How- 
ever, the  first  years  of  a  general  immigration  may  again  raise  the  prob- 
lem, and  we  must  be  prepared  to  meet  it.  Our  Jewish  pioneers  in 
Palestine  have  had  experience  with  such  struggles.  (See  Ch.  XXXI, 
XXXII.)  And  throughout  the  world  there  are  Jews,  especially  among 
the  Yiddish-speaking,  ready  to  make  untold  sacrifices  for  the  sake  of 
Hebrew.  In  Palestine  we  find  Yiddish-speaking  parents,  who  barely 
understand  Hebrew,  insisting  that  their  children  speak  Hebrew  at 
home.  And  in  the  Diaspora  we  find  articles  written  in  Yiddish  on 
the  Hebraic  movement  which  condemn  Yiddish  as  a  possible  Pales- 
tinian tongue.  It  is  a  self-denying  ordinance.  The  young  Hebraists 
in  Palestine  do  not  even  tolerate  plays  or  lectures  given  in  Yiddish. 
We  may  hope  that  when  the  question  again  becomes  a  practical  one, 
all  Israel  will  be  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  the  tongue  of  its  Prophets. 

References : 

Zionism  and  Socialism,  by  Lewis  Eifkin.  Poale  Zionism,  by  H.  Fineman.  The 
Palestine  Workers'  Fund,  by  I.  Zar.  The  Mizrachi,  by  Meyer  Waxman.  Hebraism 
un  Yiddishism  (Yiddish),  by  Abe  Goldberg. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Jews  in  socialism.    Yiddish  as  a  language. 


107 


CHAPTER  XVI 

THE    HEBREW    REVIVAL    IN    THE    DISPERSION 

The  Hebrew  Language  throughout  Jewish  History 

At  no  time  in  history  has  Hebrew  been  a  dead  language.  To 
the  masses  of  the  Jewish  people,  it  has  for  hundreds  of  years  been 
the  language  only  of  prayer  and  study,  and  to  the  intellectuals  among 
them — who  formed  a  large  proportion — it  was  also  the  language  of 
literature  and  correspondence.  Merchants  and  bankers  kept  their 
books  in  Hebrew.  Hebrew  as  the  commonly  spoken  language 
of  the  Jewish  people  in  its  own  land  was  replaced,  even  before  we  lost 
our  land,  by  the  Aramaic  dialect  which  is  closely  related  to  Hebrew. 
In  this  dialect  certain  parts  of  the  prayer-book  are  written,  notably 
the  Kaddish,  and  also  a  large  part  of  two  of  the  late  books  of  the  Bible, 
Daniel  and  Ezra.  But  on  the  whole,  Jewish  literature  was  produced 
in  Hebrew,  as  exemplified  by  the  Mishnah,  written  in  Aramaic-speak- 
ing times,  and  by  other  legal  and  philosophical  writings.  Through- 
out the  Middle  Ages,  too,  the  chief  works  of  Jewish  learning  were 
produced  in  Hebrew,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  philosophic  works — 
as  those  of  Halevy,  Ibn  Gebirol,  Saadia  and  Maimonides — originally 
written  in  Arabic  during  the  Arabic-Jewish  period  of  culture,  but  later 
translated  into  Hebrew.  In  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  in  the 
"Golden  Era"  of  the  Jews  in  Spain,  there  was  a  remarkable  revival 
of  Hebrew  literature  which  produced,  besides  books  of  travel,  tales 
and  philosophy,  works  on  Hebrew  grammar,  and  a  wonderful  flowering 
of  lyric  poetry.  Greatest  among  these  poets  were:  Judah  Halevi, 
the  passionate  Zionist  who,  legend  tells  us,  was  slain  at  the  gates  of 
Jerusalem  while  on  the  dangerous  pilgrimage  from  his  luxurious  home 
in  Spain  to  the  then  desolate  Holy  Land,  and  Shlomo  Ibn  Gebirol, 
singer  of  love,  human  as  well  as  divine.  Many  of  Halevy's  best  poems 
have  been  rather  well  translated  into  English  and  appear  in  various 
collections.  And  the  best  of  the  piyutim  or  holy-day  poems  in  the 
ritual  can  be  traced  to  this  period. 

Relation  of  Language  to  Nationality 

In  modern  times — seven  centuries  later — there  has  been  another 
Hebrew  revival,  comparable  in  quality  and  much  wider  in  extent.  For 

108 


THE  HEBREW  REVIVAL  IN  THE  DISPERSION 

at  no  time  since  the  dispersion  has  Hebrew  become  as  now  the  lan- 
guage of  daily,  intercourse  of  thousands  upon  thousands  of  Jews.  This 
miracle — a  miracle  of  will  and  endurance  and  devotion — is  closely 
associated  with  the  new  Jewish  national  movement.  However,  we 
should  not  forget  that  the  Hebrew  revival  of  modern  times  preceded 
in  its  beginnings  the  national  movement,  and  is  in  no  small  measure 
responsible  for  the  impetus  toward  Zionism  and  for  the  spread  of 
Zionism,  especially  among  the  Russian  masses. 

To  understand  this,  one  must  realize  the  relation  of  language  to 
nationality.  Our  native  language  is  our  most  intimate  possession. 
Since  it  has  been  pretty  clearly  proven  by  science  that  thought  is 
impossible  except  in  words,  so  the  language  in  which  we  think  is  the 
body  of  our  intellectual  life.  Also,  our  language  determines  which 
literature  shall  be  most  familiar  to  us.  And  what  is  literature  but  the 
spiritual  and  intellectual  history  of  a  people?  Language  therefore 
determines  our  national  sympathies.  This  was  demonstrated  in  the 
Great  War  especially  by  Switzerland,  the  nation  composed  of  three 
peoples  with  three  languages.  Although  Switzerland  remained 
neutral,  the  sympathies  of  its  inhabitants  with  the  various  belligerents 
were  pretty  well  divided  along  linguistics  lines.  So,  naturally,  a  gen- 
eration of  Jews  which  was  at  home  in  Hebrew  speech  and  literature 
would  be  open  and  prepared  for  the  revival  of  national  aspiration  as 
the  plowed  ground  is  ready  for  the  seed.  A  still  deeper  relation  exists 
between  nationality  and  speech.  Each  language  has,  as  it  were,  a  spirit 
or  soul  of  its  own.  Whoever  learns  it  comes  into  direct  possession  of 
certain  spiritual  treasures.  The  knowledge  of  German  inspires  to 
thoroughness  and  order,  the  knowledge  of  French  to  precision  and 
beauty  of  form.  And  Hebrew  has  a  quality  which  may  be  called  truth 
in  action.  One  of  the  great  Jewish  creations  has  been  the  Hebrew 
language  itself.  Any  student  of  Hebrew  soon  discovers  its  rare  quality, 
its  directness,  its  swift  motion  and  brevity,  its  simplicity,  unity, 
universality.  These  are  qualities  of  the  Hebraic  soul.  Created  by  the 
Jews,  Hebrew  has  also  created  the  Jews.  The  Bible  is  a  Hebrew  book ;  it 
could  have  been  only  a  Hebrew  book.  To  fulfill  its  spiritual  promise 
in  national  life  the  Jewish  people  must  again  be  a  Hebraic  people. 

Hebrew  Revived  for  the  Sake  of  European  Culture 

The  modern  revival  of  Hebrew  began  with  that  very  group  whose 
purpose  was  to  escape  from  the  dangers  and  privations  of  Jewish 
separatism  or  nationalism,  in  dispersion.  Moses  Mendelssohn  and 
his  followers   (see  Ch.  V)  were  responsible  for  the  first  return  to 

109 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Hebrew  as  a  literary  medium.  As  Hebrew  was  the  preferred  lan- 
guage of  the  Jewish  reading  public,  these  writers  used  it  for  trans- 
mitting modern  thought  and  culture  to  the  Jewish  masses.  Their 
purpose  was  to  prepare  the  masses  of  German  Ghetto  Jews  for  Euro- 
pean culture  and  intellectual  assimilation.  The  Meassefim,  as  their 
Hebrew  publications  were  called,  which  served  their  purpose  so  far  as 
Germany  was  concerned,  and  were  discarded  for  German  literature 
as  soon  as  possible,  found  their  way  also  into  the  hands  of  Jews  in 
Lithuania,  Poland,  Galicia,  and  the  Ukraine,  and  there  they  ended  by 
having  quite  another  result.  Hebrew  literature,  revived  there  for 
practically  the  same  reasons  as  in  Germany,  as  a  way  of  escape  from 
the  intellectual  narrowness  and  stagnation  of  the  Ghetto  into  the 
freedom  of  European  culture,  was  bound  to  take  other  forms  because 
of  the  different  social  conditions.  These  Jews,  living  in  dense  masses, 
were  steeped  in  Hebraic  forms  of  learning,  life  and  sentiment.  The 
Haskalah  movement  (see  Ch.  V)  soon  developed  writers  who  loved 
Hebrew  not  merely  as  a  vehicle  for  modern  thought,  but  for  its  own 
sake. 

Return  to  Biblical  Style 

Even  the  editors  of  the  Meassefim  had  their  notions  of  Hebrew 
style.  Opposed  as  they  were  in  all  things  to  Talmudic  Judaism,  they 
avoided  the  Hebrew  style  of  the  contemporary  Talmudists,  which 
was  not  purely  Biblical  but  was  compounded  also  from  Talmudic  and 
other  post-Biblical  literature.  The  Hebrew  of  the  Eastern  Jews, 
while  rich  and  pliant,  had  sacrificed  manner  to  matter,  had  suffered 
from  the  neglect  of  Hebrew  grammar  and  of  the  Bible  itself,  and 
had  lost  all  beauty  of  rhythm  and  form.  Hence  the  editors  of  the 
Meassefim  adopted  the  slogan:  "Back  to  the  Bible!"  Such  a  reaction 
could  not  in  the  long  run  be  fruitful  of  a  rich  literature,  but  for  the 
moment  it  was  healthy  at  least  in  a  negative  sense.  It  purified 
Hebrew  style  and  reawakened  the  love  of  poetry  and  beauty  in  speech. 
This  style,  used  largely  by  the  earlier  writers  of  the  Hebrew  revival, 
has  been  termed  Melitzah.  Its  tendency  was  to  overburden  prose 
with  Biblical  quotations  and  forms,  sometimes  without  due  considera- 
tion of  their  appropriateness. 

The  First  Hebrew  Novel 

The  first  Hebrew  novel,  published  at  Vilna  in  1853,  was  written 
by  Abraham  Mapu.  It  was  Ahavat  Zion  (The  Love  of  Zion)  ,  and 
related  in  limpid  Biblical  style  a  love  story  of  the  period  of  Heze- 

110 


THE  HEBREW  REVIVAL  IN  THE  DISPERSION 

kiah  in  Palestine.  Abraham  Mapu  was  born  in  Slobodka,  near  Kovno, 
in  1808,  and  died  in  1867.  His  early  education  was  the  traditional 
Jewish  one.  In  his  later  'teens,  however,  he  delved  deep  into  classical 
and  then  into  European  culture,  and  so,  with  a  good  foundation  of 
Jewish  learning,  he  was  able  to  Hebraize  the  romantic  form,  and  to 
keep  thoroughly  Jewish  a  type  of  literature  until  then  strange  to  the 
Ghetto.  It  was  a  liberating  breath.  Mapu's  novel  found  an  enthus- 
iastic response  from  the  young  people  who  thus  escaped  Ghetto  medi- 
evalism by  the  path  of  a  living  Hebrew  literature.  The  older  genera- 
tion, scenting  a  danger  to  tradition,  put  a  ban  on  this  innocent  novel, 
which  many  a  youngster  read  in  secret  with  the  relish  for  forbidden 
fruit. 

Yehudah  Leib  Gordon 

While  Mapu  was  still  writing,  Yehudah  Leib  Gordon  (Leon 
Gordon)  began  to  stir  the  Jewish  people,  or  rather  the  Jewish  pro- 
gressives and  the  Jewish  youth,  with  Hebrew  poems  of  extraordinary 
merit.  He  voiced  in  the  Hebrew  language  that  rebellion  against  a 
sordid  and  cramping  life,  that  reaction  to  extreme  free  thought  which 
but  for  him  and  others  like  him  would  have  driven  the  younger  Jews 
to  alien  literatures.  He  was  born  at  Vilna  in  1831,  and  was  graduated 
from  the  Rabbinical  Seminary  there.  For  about  twenty  years  he 
taught  Hebrew  in  government  schools.  He  was  secretary  of  the 
"Society  for  the  Promotion  of  Culture  among  the  Jews  of  Russia" ; 
he  took  an  active  part  in  communal  work.  His  life  was  full  of  strug- 
gle, and  he  tasted  deep  of  the  Jewish  tragedy.  Some  time  he  spent 
even  in  prison  and  exile.  He  died  in  1892.  His  numerous  books  of 
poetry,  tragic,  poignant,  are  intensely  Jewish  despite,  and  perhaps 
because  of,  their  spirit  of  rebellion.  Although  Gordon  was  not  a  con- 
scious Jewish  nationalist,  although  his  message  was  in  fact  only  nega- 
tive and  destructive,  his  masterly  development  of  Hebrew  style  proved 
of  inestimable  worth  to  the  national  revival. 

Perez  Smolenskin 

Such,  indeed,  was  the  unintended  result  of  all  the  Hebrew  labors 
of  the  Maskilim  (see  Ch.  V),  even  of  those  whose  avowed  purpose 
was  assimilation  of  Jewish  thought  with  alien  cultures.  The  first 
conscious  nationalist  of  note  in  this  group  was  Perez  Smolenskin. 
(See  Ch.  VII.)  From  the  beginning  of  his  literary  labors,  he  valued 
and  developed  the  Hebrew  language  as  an  end  in  itself.  And  later 
he  became  a  passionate  and  yet  clear-sighted  exponent  of  the  Jewish 

ill 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

national  ideal  in  pre-Zionist  days.  To  him  Hebraic  renationalization 
was  the  only  fitting  role  for  the  people  of  the  Prophets.  When  he 
founded  the  monthly  Hebrew  Journal,  Hashahar,  the  little  group  of 
Hebrew  writers  who  rallied  to  his  support  made  the  Hebrew  revival 
a  definite  and  conscious  means  for  the  Jewish  national  revival. 

Development  of  the  Language 

The  translation  of  classic  and  scientific  works  from  all  European 
languages  into  Hebrew  had,  besides  its  avowed  purpose  of  educating 
the  masses  of  Hebrew-reading  Jews,  also  the  effect  of  enriching  and 
diversifying  the  Hebrew  language.  A  number  of  Hebrew  periodicals 
were  founded,  and  the  daily  Hebrew  newspapers  that  arose  did  much 
to  render  the  language  flexible.  It  also,  however,  unfortunately  tended 
to  adulterate  it  by  an  infusion  of  borrowed  foreign  words.  A  news* 
paper  must  deal  with  every  sort  of  news.  Under  pressure  of  neces- 
sity the  newspaper  man  coined  or  compounded  new  Hebrew  words. 

Effect  of  Nationalism  on  Hebrew 

With  the  rise  of  the  Hoveve  Zion  movement  (see  Ch.  VIII),  num- 
bers of  clubs  and  societies  were  formed  to  develop  Hebrew  as  a  spoken 
tongue.  Most  of  the  societies  did  not  live  long.  It  was  a  hard  task  to 
convert  a  written  into  a  spoken  language.  The  societies  rose  and 
fell,  but  the  movement  persisted.  Although  Hebrew  was  now  a 
modern  literary  language,  it  was  spoken  freely  by  only  a  few  scholars. 
It  was  a  written  not  a  spoken  tongue.  Such  it  must  have  remained 
except  for  the  revival  of  Jewish  national  life  on  the  Jewish  soil.  Its 
revival  there  as  the  language  of  school  and  market  place  and  home 
is  recounted  elsewhere.  (See  Ch.  XXXII.)  The  reviving  and  shaping 
influence  of  Hebrew  speech  in  Palestine  has  been  felt  throughout  the 
dispersion.  The  language  recreated  in  Palestine  has  borrowed  its 
wealth  from  every  period  of  Hebrew  literature,  and  yet  does  not  sacri- 
fice beauty  and  unity  to  fluency.  So,  too,  the  Hebrew  writers  of 
other  lands  gradually  freed  themselves  from  the  purifying  but  narrow- 
ing effects  of  too  Biblical  a  style.  Such  a  style  was  bound  to  be  arti- 
ficial as  well  as  restricted.  The  purpose  of  Hebrew  literature  is  now 
altogether  Hebraic;  one  no  longer  asks  whether  a  Hebrew  writer  is 
a  Jewish  nationalist.     One  takes  it  for  granted. 

Modern  Hebrew  Poetry 

The  new  literature  has  been  especially  rich  in  poets,  practically  all 
of  them  of  East  European  extraction.  Gordon  was  followed  by  Mena- 
hem   Dolitzki,  who   was   the  forerunner  of  a   remarkable  group  of 

112 


THE  HEBREW  REVIVAL  IN  THE  DISPERSION 

modern  Hebrew  poets.  The  best  of  these  are  Hayim  Nahman  Bialik, 
Saul  Tchernichovsky,  and  Zalman  Schneier,  of  whom  the  greatest  is 
no  doubt  Bialik.  He  has  chosen  a  wide  field  for  his  work,  varying  in 
his  themes  from  light  love  songs  to  passionate  Zionist  lyrics,  from  care- 
ful studies  of  Jewish  cultural  values  to  fiery  denunciations  of  pogroms. 
He  has  also  distinguished  himself  as  a  prose  writer.  He  has,  more- 
over, actively  aided  the  Hebrew  revival  in  another  way,  for  he  is  the 
moving  spirit  of  the  Moriah,  a  publishing  house  which  has  been  issu- 
ing Hebrew  text-books,  particularly  the  monumental  work  Sefer 
Agadah,  a  collection  in  several  volumes  of  the  best  legends  from  the 
Talmud  and  Midrashim. 

Tchernichovsky's  poetry  is  full  of  appreciations  of  nature,  and 
tends  to  defy  the  Jewish  traditional  view  of  life.  At  times  he  likes 
to  consider  himself  a  "Greek,"  and  addresses  Hebrew  odes  to  Apollo 
or  sings  the  praises  of  Bacchus. 

Schneier,  who  is  the  youngest  of  this  group,  has  nevertheless  writ- 
ten poems  comparable  with  Bialik's  best  works.  He  is  distinguished  by 
a  quality  of  lyric  beauty  and  music  in  his  verse. 

Modern  Hebrew  Prose 

Among  the  prose  writers,  Ahad  Ha-Am,  the  greatest  of  modern 
Hebrew  thinkers  and  philosophers  (see  Ch.  XVII),  stands  forth  pre- 
eminent as  a  stylist.  He  has  revolutionized  Hebrew  prose.  Without 
adopting  many  foreign  words  or  departing  from  idiomatic  Hebrew,  he 
has  been  able  to  express  his  philosophic  ideas  with  the  utmost  precis- 
ion and  clearness.  About  him  has  gathered  a  school  of  writers  wrio 
model  their  work  upon  his. 

Solomon  Rabinowitz,  better  known  as  Shalom  Aleichem  (1859- 
1916)  and  Solomon  Jacob  Abramowitsch,  or  Mendele  Mocher  Sefarim 
(1836-1917),  wrote  most  of  their  novels  and  short  stories  in  Yiddish, 
but  since  they  either  themselves  translated  into  Hebrew  or  else  caused 
to  be  translated  a  large  part  of  their  work,  and  since  they  also  wrote 
a  considerable  amount  originally  in  Hebrew,  they  rank  as  high  in 
Hebrew  literature  as  they  do  in  Yiddish.  These  men  tasted  so  deep 
of  Russian  Ghetto  life  that  the  color,  the  humor  and  pathos  of  their 
writings,  are  of  the  very  stuff  of  reality.  Mendele  in  his  youth 
wandered  all  over  the  Jewish  Pale,  from  town  to  town.  Shalom 
Aleichem  came  twice  to  America  where,  on  his  second  visit,  he  died. 
These  men  helped  to  create  the  new  life  by  holding  up  a  mirror  to 
the  old. 

113 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 
Other  Writers  and  Publications 

Among  the  other  celebrated  Hebrew  writers  of  today  are  David 
Frischman,  the  short  story  writer,  poet,  critic,  and  translator,  Jacob 
Kahn,  the  poet,  Joseph  Klausner,  publicist,  essayist  and  historian,  and 
Reuben  Brainin,  writer  of  stories  and  essays,  and  translator.  The  pub- 
licist and  litterateur,  Nahum  Sokolow,  one  of  the  foremost  Hebraists, 
has  recently  sacrificed  his  literary  to  his  political  activities.  A  host 
of  Hebrew  newspapers,  weeklies  and  monthlies  as  well  as  dailies,  has 
sprung  up,  not  only  in  Palestine  but  also  in  Eastern  Europe  and  even 
in  America,  Hashiloah,  published  in  Odessa,  the  organ  of  Ahad  Ha-Am, 
Bialik  and  Klausner;  Hatzefirah,  in  Warsaw,  a  daily  paper  under  the 
guidance  of  Nahum  Sokolow;  and  Hazeman,  another  Russian  daily, 
functioned  until  the  war.  Ha-olam,  Hebrew  Zionist  weekly  in  Russia, 
also  stopped  by  the  war,  has  reappeared  under  the  title  of  Ha-Am. 
In  the  United  States,  Hatoren  is  a  Hebrew  Zionist  weekly,  published 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Zionist  Organization;  and  Ha-ivri  is  the 
organ  of  the  Mizrahi  party  in  America. 

Re-creation  of  an  Ancient  Tongue 

Many  of  the  words  of  this  new-old  language  have  been  revived, 
recreated  from  all  epochs  of  Hebrew  literature,  and  many  have  had 
to  be  created.  But  most  of  them  have  been  born  in  the  spirit  of  our 
ancient  Hebrew  speech.  Scientific  terms  are  often  compounded  of  old 
Hebrew  words,  or  are  based  on  primal  Semitic  forms,  so  that  they  have 
sprung  new-blown  from  the  old  roots.  This  re-creation  has  been 
stimulated  by  the  new  Jewish  life  in  Palestine,  where  Hebrew  writers 
are  forced  to  deal  with  such  subjects  as  agriculture,  medicine,  geog- 
raphy, and  music. 

Effect  of  Palestinian  Hebrew  on  the  Diaspora 

The  revival  of  Hebrew  speech,  if  not  yet  of  Hebrew  literature,  is 
a  gift  to  the  Diaspora  from  Palestine.  (For  Ben  Yehudah  and  his 
Millon  and  the  Va-ad  Halashon,  see  Ch.  XXXII.)  In  Palestine,  He- 
brew is  spoken  with  the  Sephardic  accent,  with  a  crispness  and  beauty 
and  rhythm  that  ought  to  guide  the  teachers  in  the  dispersion.  It 
has  not  yet  been  adopted  by  all  the  Hebrew  schools  in  other  lands. 
And  even  most  of  our  poets  use  the  Ashkenazic  pronounciation  learned 
and  used  by  them  in  the  Russian  Ghetto,  so  that  their  poems  cannot 
be  read  properly  with  the  Sephardic  accent.  This  is  perhaps  inevitable, 
because  of  the  general  use  of  the  Ashkenazic  Hebrew  and  its  associa- 
tion with  the  synagogue  service,  which  compels  its  use  also  in  the 

114 


THE  HEBREW  REVIVAL  IN  THE  DISPERSION 

schools.  But  in  all  else,  Palestinian  Hebrew  has  re-shaped  and,  in  fact, 
created  a  spoken  Hebrew  in  the  Diaspora.  The  Ivrit  be-Ivrit  (or 
modern,  spoken)  method  of  teaching  Hebrew  has  been  adopted  in  our 
Hebrew  schools,  so  that  in  all  countries — not  only  in  Eastern  Europe — 
Jewish  children  and  adults  are  learning  to  speak  Hebrew  fluently.  In 
England  and  America,  a  remarkable  modern  Hebrew  school  system  has 
developed,  based  on  the  Palestinian  methods.  The  teachers  are  gen- 
erally college-bred,  enthusiastic  young  men  and  women,  with  an 
infusion,  since  the  war,  of  young  Palestinians  in  temporary  exile.  And 
it  need  hardly  be  added  that  practically  all  the  teachers  are  Zionists. 
Large  Hebrew  Folk  Schulen  taught  by  similar  methods,  have  been 
established  by  Zionists  in  New  York  and  Chicago. 

The  eighth  Zionist  Congress  adopted  Hebrew  as  its  official  lan- 
guage, and  since  then  at  each  successive  Congress  more  and  more 
speeches  have  been  made  in  Hebrew.  (See  Ch.  X.)  In  America  the 
Histadrut  Ivrit,  an  organization  for  the  spread  of  Hebrew  knowledge 
which  operates  through  publications,  classes,  and  clubs,  is  officially 
related  with  the  Department  of  Education  of  the  Zionist  Organization. 
It  has  gained  much  from  the  stimulus  of  Palestinian  Jews  stranded 
here  by  the  war.  The  popularity  of  Hebrew  is  making  of  Hebrew 
teaching  a  remunerative  profession.  Hebrew-speaking  clubs  abound, 
and  even  Hebrew  lectures  and  plays  are  well  attended.  A  new  cul- 
tural value  has  been  created  from  one  of  the  oldest  of  cultural  tongues. 

References: 

The  "Renascence  of  Hebrew  Literature,  by  Nahum  Slouschz.  Zionism  and  Jewish 
Culture,  by  Norman  Bentwich.     Leon  Gordon,  by  A.  B.  Rhine. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  novel  in  modern  Hebrew  literature.    Poetry  of  Bialik. 


115 


CHAPTER  XVII 

AHAD    HA-AM* 

Boyhood  and  Youth 

Asher  Ginsberg,  more  widely  known  by  his  pseudonym  of  "Ahad 
Ha-Am"  (One  of  the  People),  was  born  on  August  5,  1856,  in  the 
town  of  Skvira,  government  of  Kiev,  Russia.  His  parents  were  of 
good  Hassidic  stock,  and  enjoyed  a  comparatively  fair  measure  of 
worldly  prosperity.  Brought  up  as  a  Hassid,  Ginsberg  received  the 
Heder  training  common  among  Jewish  youths  of  his  day.  His  assidu- 
ous study  of  Hebrew  soon  made  him  an  adept  in  Biblical  and  Talmudic 
lore.  But  this  was  not  sufficient  for  him.  Fired  by  an  ambition  to 
master  the  more  important  secular  branches  of  knowledge  and  yet  un- 
willing to  incur  the  wrath  of  those  dear  to  him,  he  studied  Russian  in  a 
clandestine  manner,  which  enabled  him,  nevertheless,  to  ground  him- 
self thoroughly  in  that  language.  In  1873,  at  the  age  of  only  seventeen, 
he  was  married  to  a  young  lady  who  was  descended  from  a  well-known 
Rabbinical  family.  Five  years  later,  with  the  object  of  making  what 
might  be  called  his  "grand  tour,"  he  visited  Odessa.  So  impressed 
was  he  by  the  incidents  of  his  trip  that  he  determined  to  spend  several 
years  in  travel  and  study. 

Years  of  Study  and  Preparation 

The  year  1882  saw  him  in  Vienna,  1883  and  1884  in  Berlin  and 
Breslau ;  all  this  time  he  occupied  himself  with  German,  French,  Eng- 
lish, and  Russian  philosophy,  by  no  means  neglecting,  in  the  meantime, 
the  systems  of  the  great  thinkers  of  his  own  people.  Fully  equipped 
with  natural  talents  and  with  the  treasures  of  learning  he  had  acquired 
during  these  formative  years,  he  revisited  Odessa  in  1884.  His  ability 
was  at  once  recognized,  and  he  was  made  a  member  of  the  central 
committee  of  the  Hoveve  Zion,  of  which  Dr.  Pinsker  was  then 
president. 

Criticism  of  the  Hoveve  Zion 

Having  taken  up  a  permanent  residence  in  Odessa,  he  became 
deeply  interested  in  the  method  of  solving  the  Jewish  problem  whicn 

*  Adapted  from  an  Essay  by  Dr.  Aaron  Shaffer. 

116 


AHAD  HA -AM 

the  Lovers  of  Zion  were  at  that  time  exploiting.  He  came  under  the 
eye  of  the  publicist,  Alexander  Zederbaum,  the  editor  of  a  Hebrew 
periodical,  Hamelitz,  and  himself  an  ardent  champion  in  the  cause 
of  his  stricken  brethren.  The  very  first  article  contributed  by  Ahad 
Ha-Am  to  Hamelitz  showed  clearly  the  trend  of  his  thoughts.  An 
idealist  from  the  very  first,  he  rebelled  against  the  spirit  of  crass 
materialism  which  seemed  to  dominate  the  minds  of  some  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Hovcve  Zion.  The  chief  aim  of  these  men,  it  seemed  to 
him,,  was  to  attempt  to  relieve  the  physical  distress  of  the  fugitives 
from  Russia  and  Rumania ;  to  their  spiritual  needs,  but  little  attention 
was  paid.  The  colonists,  it  is  true,  had  been  prompted  by  only  the 
purest  motives  to  undertake  their  great  pioneer  work;  but  even  they 
were  rapidly  losing  this  idealism  under  the  degenerating  influence  of 
Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild's  philanthropic  system  of  finance.  In 
a  word,  Palestine  was  being  utilized  as  a  safe  refuge,  not  for  Judaism, 
but  solely  for  the  Jews. 

Lo  Zu  Haderech  (This  is  not  the  Way),  an  article  written  in 
1889,  laid  down  Ahad  Ha-Am's  theories  on  the  question  of  the 
improvement  of  Jewish  conditions.  The  aspiring  young  writer  pointed 
out  the  fact  that  the  Hoveve  Zion  had  been  hasty  and  unscientific  in 
their  schemes  of  colonization.  The  great  defect  in  their  system, 
according  to  him,  had  been  the  absence  of  that  communistic  spirit 
on  which  so  much  stress  is  laid  in  the  Bible,  and  the  consequent  domi- 
nance of  individualism.  The  only  way  to  bring  about  a  renascence 
of  Jewish  nationalism  (and  this  was  written,  we  must  not  forget, 
in  Ahad  Ha-Am's  first  printed  article,  proving  that  he  had  thought  out 
the  matter  while  he  was  still  a  very  young  man)  was  to  create  a 
renascence  of  the  Jewish  heart,  of  the  spirit  of  Judaism.  Palestine,  he 
asserted,  must  not  solve  the  Jewish  problem ;  it  must  solve  the  problem 
of  Judaism.  This  could  be  brought  about  only  by  developing  in 
the  Jewish  people  their  rich  and  peculiar  culture. 

The  B'ne  Moshe 

These  theories  Ahad  Ha-Am  embodied  in  practical  form  in  the 
constitution  of  a  secret  Zionist  league  organized  by  him  at  about  this 
time,  the  B'ne  Moshe  (Sons  of  Moses).  Ahad  Ha-Am,  who  is  a  great 
believer  in  leadership  and  in  the  responsibility  of  the  elect,  gathered 
in  it  a  group  of  exceptional  men.  This  league  remained  in  existence 
during  the  eight  years  from  1889  to  1897,  disbanding,  as  we  see,  in 
the  very  year  in  which  the  first  Zionist  Congress  was  held.  The 
purposes  of  the  B'ne  Moshe  were  threefold:  first,  the  betterment  and 

117 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

broadening  of  Hebrew  education;  secondly,  the  fostering  of  a  love 
for  Hebrew  literature;  and  lastly,  the  furthering  of  agricultural  settle- 
ment in  Palestine.  The  league  accomplished  much,  and  was  of  impor- 
tance in  developing  a  number  of  the  later  Zionist  leaders,  among 
them,  M.  M.  Ussischkin  and  Shmarya  Levin. 

Literary  Activity 

It  is  at  about  this  period  in  Ahad  Ha-Am's  life  that  his  literary 
activity  really  begins.  In  1890,  he  became  the  editor  of  a  Zionist 
Hebrew  periodical,  the  Kaveret.  Here  was  published  the  series  of 
articles  known  by  their  general  caption  Emet  me-Erez  Israel 
(Truth  from  the  land  of  Israel).  These  articles  were  exhaustive 
reports  on  education  and  colonization  in  Palestine,  and  were  the 
direct  results  of  visits  paid  to  the  Holy  Land  by  Ahad  Ha-Am  in 
1893  and  1894,  as  the  representative  of  numerous  Palestinian  commit- 
tees. They  contained  mercilessly  objective  criticisms  of  the  short- 
comings of  the  colonization  work.  There  then  took  shape  in  his 
mind  that  doctrine  which  was  to  play  so  large  a  part  in  Zionist  thought 
and  activity,  and  which  he  preached,  and  is  still  preaching,  so  whole- 
heartedly— the  doctrine  of  the  cultural  as  well  as  the  material  rebirth 
of  a  nation  at  once  rich  in  treasures  of  learning  and  in  the  goods  of 
this  world,  a  rebirth  that  must  be  attended  by  infinite  patience  and 
rational  activity. 

A  collection  of  essays  was  published  in  1895  and  revised  for  a 
second  edition  in  1902,  under  the  title  of  Al  Parashat  Derachim 
(At  the  Parting  of  the  Ways),  a  collection  many  of  the  essays  of 
which  have  since  been  translated  into  Russian,  German,  and  English. 
Ahad  Ha-Am's  literary  activity  earned  for  him,  in  1896,  a  post  of 
great  significance  for  the  development  of  modern  Hebrew  literature, 
that  of  head  of  the  great  Hebrew  publishing  establishment,  the 
Ahiasaf.  In  this  capacity  he  modified  and  enlarged  the  program  of  the 
institution  under  his  direction,  always  with  the  welfare  of  his  cherished 
language,  Hebrew,  at  heart.  At  about  this  time,  too,  he  became  the 
editor  of  Hashiloah,  a  Hebrew  monthly  which,  until  its  discontinu- 
ance at  the  outbreak  of  the  Great  War,  enjoyed  the  reputation  of 
being  the  best  among  contemporaneous  Hebrew  periodicals.  In  the 
early  years  of  the  present  century,  Ahad  Ha-Am  accepted  a  respon- 
sible position  in  the  great  Russian  tea  firm  of  the  Wissotzkys,  but  this 
did  not  take  him  away  completely  from  the  field  of  letters.  In  recent 
years,  as  the  representative  of  the  Wissotzky  Tea  Company,  he  has 
been  living  in  London,  where  he  is  one  of  the  best-beloved  and  most 
influential  leaders  of  English  Jewry  and  of  English  Zionism. 

118 


AHAD  HA -AM 

i 
His  Philosophy 

For  Ahad  Ha-Am,  Judaism  is  a  living  and  functional  organism 
which  asserted  itself  centuries  ago  in  the  creation  of  a  specific  type 
of  life,  a  life  which  embodies  the  Hebrew  spirit.  The  early  history 
of  the  Hebrews  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  history  of  the 
development  and  formulation  of  this  Hebrew  spirit.  This  Hebrew 
genius  was  at  all  times  essentially  religious  and  moral,  never  mate- 
rialistic. Thus,  the  typical  products  of  this  spirit  are  the  Prophets, 
men  who  fearlessly  enunciated  the  mighty  truths  leading  toward 
morality  and  social  justice.  For  Ahad  Ha-Am,  Moses,  the  most  im- 
posing figure  in  Jewish  history,  if  not  in  the  history  of  mankind,  was 
not  primarily  a  military  hero,  nor  a  statesman,  nor  even  a  lawgiver. 
Moses  was,  to  use  Ahad  Ha-Am's  own  words,  "the  lord  of  the 
Prophets,"  and,  as  such,  "the  ideal  archetype  of  Hebrew  prophecy  in 
the  purest  and  most  exalted  sense  of  the  word."  In  the  nation  at 
large,  the  welfare  and  salvation  of  the  individual  was  subordinated 
to  that  of  the  whole.  "So  it  was,"  we  read  in  Flesh  and  Spirit,  "that 
Israel  as  a  community  became  a  nation  consecrated  from  its  birth  to 
the  service  of  setting  the  whole  of  mankind  an  example  by  its  law." 
Yet,  paradoxical  though  this  may  seem,  despite  the  fact  that  the 
individual  good  is  merged  in  that  of  the  community,  individualism 
is  by  no  means  barred.  Indeed,  Judaism,  as  Ahad  Ha-Am  points 
out  in  what  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  inspired  of  all  his  essays,  Trans- 
valuation  of  Values  (1898),  demands  that  each  Jew  be  a  moral  super- 
man, so  that  the  Jewish  nation  might  thereby  fulfill  the  prophetic 
visions  of  a  moral  supernation.  As  the  Prophet  is,  in  our  author's 
estimation,  the  Hebrew  superman,  par  excellence,  the  Jewish  nation 
must  in  time  become,  not  a  "kingdom  of  Priests",  but  a  "nation  of 
Prophets". 

What  Judaism  needs  today,  in  the  opinion  of  Ahad  Ha-am,  is 
the  "possibility  of  combining  the  unadulterated  Jewishness  of  the 
Ghetto  with  the  breadth  and  freedom  of  modern  life."  The  breadth 
and  freedom  of  modern  life,  be  that  life  as  broad  and  free  as  it  may  be, 
is,  without  this  unadulterated  Jewishness,  of  no  value  to  the  Jew. 
In  his  essay,  Slavery  in  Freedom  (1891),  Ahad  Ha-Am  holds  up  to 
ridicule  the  mixture  of  chauvinism  and  cosmopolitanism  which  dom- 
inates the  Jews  of  France,  and  the  ethical  slavery  in  which  they  live. 
In  another  essay,  Doctor  Pinsker  and  His  Brochure,  written  shortly 
after  the  death  of  the  author  of  Auto-Emancipation,  after  giving  an 
interesting  and  valuable  resume  of  the  practical  work  accomplished 
by  Dr.  Pinsker  and  the  ideas  set  forth  in  his  book,  Ahad  Ha-Am  tells 

119 


I 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

us  his  own  view  of  the  solution  of  the  Jewish  problem.  We  read: 
"What  we  lack  above  all  is  a  fixed  spot  to  serve  as  a  national  and 
spiritual  center,  a  safe  retreat,  not  for  the  Jews,  but  for  Judaism,  for 
the  spirit  of  our  people.  Only  in  the  land  of  Israel  can  such  a  center 
be  established." 

Thus  the  two,  the  growth  of  the  Jewish  spirit  throughout  the 
world  and  the  gradual  infiltration  of  settlers  into  Palestine,  will  work 
hand  in  hand. 

How  is  such  a  Jewish  spirit  to  be  cultivated  among  those  who 
do  not  at  present  possess  it?  Chiefly,  says  Ahad  Ha-Am,  through 
a  renascence  of  the  Hebrew  language.  Himself  the  greatest  Hebrew 
writer  of  the  present  day,  and  using  Hebrew  always  and  alone  as  his 
literary  medium,  he  advocates  a  thorough  study  of  Hebrew  literature 
and  a  revival  of  the  Hebrew  language. 

Relation  with  the  Zionist  Organization 

It  is  only  natural  that  Ahad  Ha-Am  should  not  have  found  him- 
self in  complete  accord  with  Herzl's  platform  of  "political  Zionism". 
Though  he  attended  the  first  Zionist  Congress,  in  1897,  he  seems  to 
have  been  somewhat  disappointed.  Since  that  time,  he  has  been 
constantly  preaching  his  creed  of  "Cultural"  or  "moral"  Zionism,  as  it 
is  sometimes  called.  In  recent  years  he  has  advocated  the  establish- 
ment in  Palestine  of  a  university  and  of  more  institutions  like  the 
Bezalel. 

Recent  developments,  which  have  welded  Zionism  into  a  closer 
unity,  have  integrated  the  ideas  of  Ahad  Ha-Am  with  the  very  stuff 
of  political  Zionism.  He  himself  is  now  closely  identified  with  the 
movement,  having  joined  the  Political  Committee  in  England  just 
before  the  Balfour  Declaration.  The  development  of  Hebrew  as  our 
national  language  has  come  to  the  forefront,  especially  in  view  of  the 
possible  danger  to  that  language  from  a  large  Yiddish-speaking  migra- 
tion to  Palestine  in  the  near  future.  Dr.  Chaim  Weizmann,  head  of  the 
British  Zionist  Commission  to  Palestine,  is  deeply  imbued  with  the  ideas 
of  Ahad  Ha-am.  And  the  first  political  act  of  the  Jewish  people  on  its 
own  soil  has  been  the  laying,  on  Mount  Scopus,  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Hebrew  University. 

References: 

Selected  Essays,  by  Ahad  Ha-Am. 
Subjects  for  Papers: 

Resumes  of  any  of  the  following  essays:  Moses,  Slavery  in  Freedom,  Prophet 
and  Priest,  The  Spiritual  Bevival,  Pinslcer  and  His  Brochure,  Imitation  and  Assimila- 
tion, or  Flesh  and  Spirit. 

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CHAPTER  XVIII 

ZIONISM    AND    JUDAISM 

Historic  Causes  for  an  Apparent  Contradiction 

The  early  Zionists  were  in  many  cases  men  who  had  broken  with 
traditional  Judaism.  In  as  many  other  cases,  they  were  rabbis  of  the 
most  conservative  type  and  Orthodox  Jews  who  saw  in  Zionism  a 
traditional  Jewish  aspiration  taking  practical  shape.  However,  the 
former  are  those  who  have  attracted  attention,  and  who  have  raised 
the  question  as  to  the  relation  of  Zionism  to  Judaism.  Since  Zionism 
with  them — especially  in  Russia — was  often  the  last  stage  of  a  reaction 
against  the  superstitions  of  Hessidism  and  the  narrowness  of  Tal- 
mudism,  the  national  ideal  appeared  as  unreligious  or  even  anti- 
religious.  On  the  other  hand,  since  the  Reform  Jews  based  their 
attenuated  "religion"  on  a  divorce  from  nationalism,  there  arose  in 
the  West  too  the  notion  that  Jewish  nationalism  had  nothing  to  do 
with  Jewish  religion. 

Relation  of  Zionism  with  Judaism — as  Proved  by  Prayers 

The  fact  is  that  Zionism  and  Judaism  are  warp  and  woof  of  the 
fabric  of  Jewish  life,  and  that  they  were  separated  and  unravelled  only 
when  that  life  came  in  danger  of  complete  unravelment.  Proof  of  this 
is  to  be  found  in  every  aspect  of  Jewish  religious  life  prior  to  the 
Reform  and  Haskalah  movements.  For  example,  take  the  daily, 
Sabbath,  and  festival  prayers.  Not  only  is  a  large  part  of  them 
directly  national,  in  that  they  refer  to  the  restoration  of  Zion  and  to 
the  rebuilding  of  the  Temple,  but  even  those  which  are  not  directly 
so,  imply  nationalism  (1)  by  referring  to  Israel  as  a  unit  and  in 
terms  of  a  people,  (2)  by  being  almost  exclusively  in  the  first  person 
plural,  that  is,  by  speaking  not  in  behalf  of  the  individual  but  in 
behalf  of  the  community,  and  (3)  by  using  the  form :  "Our  God  and 
God  of  our  fathers,"  which  refers  back  to  the  historic  national  descent. 
The  Union  Prayer  Book  of  the  Reform  Jews  had  practically  to  be 
rewritten  to  avoid  national  references;  and  even  so  it  avoided  only 
the  direct,  not  the  indirect  ones.  The  Sh'ma,  from  beginning  to  end, 
has  national  implications.     Note,  too,  in  the  Orthodox  prayer  book, 

121 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

the  prayers  for  the  restoration  of  the  sacrifices  in  Jerusalem,  and  also 
the  repetition  in  the  ritual  of  the  laws  regarding  them.  These  were 
preserved  because  of  the  conviction  of  a  speedy  national  return  when 
they  might  again  be  used,  and  have  been  retained  always  for  their 
ancient  national  significance. 

As  Proved  by  Festivals  and  Ceremonies 

The  ceremonies  and  festivals  are  predominantly  national.  For 
example:  Passover,  which  is  the  festival  of  national  liberation.  Note 
its  songs  and  exclamations  (Next  year  in  Jerusalem,  El  B'ne,  etc.), 
which  refer  to  the  future  redemption.  The  harvest  festivals  of 
Shabnot  and  Sukkot:  To  celebrate  the  harvest  in  a  land  far  off,  and 
recall  always  the  beauty  of  the  lost  homeland,  can  be  nothing  else  than 
national.  The  lulab,  for  example,  recalls  the  vegetation  of  Palestine. 
Hanukkah  is  the  celebration  of  a  national  victory,  the  sanctification 
of  Jewish  patriotism.  Even  the  Sabbath  is  referred  to  in  the  ritual 
as  "a  memorial  of  the  coming  forth  from  Egypt",  of  the  national  liberation. 

As  Proved  by  Laws  ♦ 

Jewish  legal  development  in  the  dispersion  was  a  national 
phenomenon.  When  Yohanan  ben  Zakkai  fled  from  Jerusalem  in 
siege  and  founded  the  Academy  of  Yavneh,  he  did  so  in  order  to  save 
Jewish  national  life  and  culture.  The  subject  of  study  was  Jewish 
law.  This  Law  was  national.  The  traditional  development  of  Jewish 
law  has  always  included  those  national  laws  which  applied  only  to  the 
land,  the  Mitzvot  Hateluyot  Ba-arez,  and  which  were  preserved  and 
discussed  and  developed  in  order  that  the  Jews,  on  their  return  to 
their  own  land,  should  be  able  again  to  apply  them.     (See  Ch.  IV.) 

As  Proved  by  the  Bible 

The  Bible  is  nationalist  throughout,  from  the  very  first  covenant 
of  God  with  Abraham  to  the  last  Prophetic  utterances.  And  this 
nationalism  nowhere  even  vaguely  foreshadows  the  ideal  of  a  people 
in  dispersion.  On  the  contrary,  the  dispersion  is  everywhere  referred 
to  as  a  horrible  calamity,  and  the  land  of  Israel  is  from  first  to  last  an 
intrinsic  part  not  only  of  the  national  life  of  Israel  but  also  of  the 
internationalism  which  is  finally  to  come  about  through  the  salvation 
of  Israel.  Note  the  lyrical  Prophetic  portions  that  foretell  the  restora- 
tion to  Zion. 

Historic  Role  of  the  Jewish  People 

But  compared  to  the  complete  conception  of  the  historic  role  of 

122 


ZIONISM  AND  JUDAISM 

the  Jewish  people,  all  these  are  only  phases  of  its  expression.  Prayer- 
book,  ritual,  and  festival,  the  Bible  and  the  vast  store  of  legalism 
and  tradition  that  has  developed  from  its  laws,  are  all  in  the  service  of 
a  simple  and  definite  conception  of  the  role  of  the  Jewish  people  in 
history.  It  was  a  conception  common  to  all  Jews  and  taken  for 
granted  by  them  before  the  Reform  movement.  The  Jewish  people 
was  chosen  by  God  to  become  His  people,  that  is,  to  live  by  His  laws, 
in  order  that  through  the  example  of  their  national  life  mankind 
might  return  to  the  laws  of  God.  God  gave  them,  or  lent  them,  the 
Land  of  Canaan — Palestine — a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey,  to 
keep  so  long  as  they  kept  His  laws.  If  they  failed  to  keep  their  side 
of  this  covenant,  the  nations  would  have  to  learn  from  the  punish- 
ment of  Israel  what  Israel  had  failed  to  exemplify  in  practice.  In 
other  words,  God  having  chosen  the  Jewish  people  for  this  task,  He 
was  resolved  that  at  last  they  should  fulfill  it,  even  if  they  must  be 
schooled  to  it  by  centuries  of  exile  and  even  if  only  a  remnant  should 
return.  The  dispersion  is  a  punishment.  At  last,  when  we  are 
worthy  and  when  the  time  is  ripe,  God  will  return  us  to  our  land  and 
through  our  national  restoration  bring  about  the  salvation  of  mankind 
and  the  brotherhood  of  nations. 

The  Miracle  of  Zionism 

History  has  so  far  apparently  not  belied  this  Jewish  conception  of 
Jewish  history — which,  indeed,  kept  the  Jewish  people  in  life — and  the 
present  climax  in  history  seems  to  point  to  its  speedy  fulfillment. 
Those  who  on  so-called  religious  grounds  believe  that  this  fulfillment 
must  be  brought  about  by  a  miracle,  an  act  of  God,  and  who  therefore 
denounce  the  Zionist  movement  as  trying  to  force  God's  hand,  are 
historically  and  ethically  unjustified.  The  return  under  Ezra  and 
Nehemiah  was  brought  about  much  like  the  present  one,  by  human 
effort  and  through  the  good  will  and  the  official  declaration  of  Cyrus, 
a  Gentile  ruler.  And  why  should  we  no  longer  be  the  instrument  of 
God?  If  He  is  to  use  us  as  the  instrument  of  redemption  of  the  nations, 
why  should  He  not  use  us  as  the  instrument  of  our  own  redemption? 
The  Messiah  and  the  Messianic  period  may  be  expected  as  well  after 
as  before  our  return.  And  who  dare  deny  a  higher  mandate  to  those 
of  our  Zionists  who  have  been  conscious  of  acting  under  divine  com- 
pulsion, either  as  individuals  or  as  a  body? 

The  Zionist  Movement  and  the  Jewish  Faith 

The   official   Zionist   Organization   is   not   a    religious   organization 

123 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

any  more  than  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  a  synagogue  is  distinctly  a 
religious  organization,  or  deals  with  religious  questions.  The  Organi- 
zation has  to  do  with  the  means,  not  the  end.  But  the  Organi- 
zation from  the  first  (see  Ch.  X)  has  respected  Judaism  and  all  Jewish 
values.  Even  Zionists  who  had  been  far  removed  from  Jewish  life 
admitted  the  necessity  of  taking  that  position.  But  why  are  many 
Zionists  anything  but  observant  Jews?  That  proves  rather  than  dis- 
proves the  Jewish,  the  religious  value,  of  the  movement.  For  these 
Zionists  were  far  removed  from  Jewish  life  before  they  became  Zion- 
ists. Zionism  did  not  make  them  unobservant.  Zionism  alone  was 
able  to  draw  them  back,  even  partially,  into  Jewish  life,  because  it 
appealed  to  the  deepest  thing  in  Judaism,  the  sense  of  national  elec- 
tion. Zionism  has  not  yet  done  for  them  all  it  can  and  must  do  for  the 
Jewish  people. 

Relation  of  Religious  to  National  Life 

In  the  Jewish  nation  there  will  no  doubt  be  Jews  of  every  shade 
of  opinion.  A  normal  religion  has  little  to  do  with  opinion.  There 
will  be  ho  State  Church.  The  State  Church  tyranny  grew  out  of 
Christianity,  where  a  religion  was  thrust  from  above  upon  a  people 
which  had  not  developed  it.  From  the  day  of  Protestantism  the  State 
Church  was  imperilled,  and  democracy  cannot  endure  it.  However, 
national  religion  is  very  different  from  a  State  Church.  Our  national 
religion  will  be  Judaism  not  because  it  will  be  forced  upon  anyone — 
for  indeed  minority  religions  and  other  interests  must  be  carefully 
safeguarded — but  because  it  will  be  the  natural  expression  of  the  life 
of  the  Jewish  people. 

If  the  community  observes  the  Sabbath  in  its  public  life,  the 
national  festivals  and  the  holy-days,  if  Jewish  law  is  embodied  in  the 
law  and  moral  and  social  code  and  public  opinion  of  the  country,  if 
Jewish  ideals  of  internationalism  and  justice  are  practised  in  our 
dealings  with  foreign  powers,  will  not  the  Jewish  nation  be  living  by 
the  Jewish  faith?  A  new  conception  of  religion  is  attracting  the 
attention  of  psychologists  and  sociologists,  the  conception  of  religion 
as  the  soul  of  a  people,  as  a  corporate  manifestation  of  group  life, 
not  merely,  in  the  Christian  sense,  as  a  form  of  personal  belief.  That 
new  conception  is  the  ancient  Jewish  conception  which  must  now  be 
tested  by  modern  experience.  And  only  under  normal  conditions  will 
our  faith  live  once  more,  will  it  be  not  merely  a  pious  memory,  to  be 
preserved  and  cherished,  but  a  living  soul  that  will  grow  and  develop 
and  bless  mankind  with  its  works?    We  have  heard  much  of  Jewish 

124 


ZIONISM  AND  JUDAISM 

ethics,  but  Jewish  ethics  without  a  Jewish  land  can  have  little  meaning 
save  for  the  individual,  and  can  have  no  development.  For  unless  a 
people  can  make  laws — as  it  can  do  only  under  autonomy — it  cannot 
have  distinctive  ethics.  For  laws  are  the  embodiment  of  the  ethical 
ideals  of  a  people.  Unless  ethical  thinking  can  finally  find  its  expres- 
sion in  laws,  it  is  to  no  purpose.  Whatever  today  we  call  Jewish  ethics, 
is  only  a  reflection  from  the  legalism  of  the  past. 

Zionism  came  into  the  world  at  a  time  of  crisis  and  disintegration, 
and  came  as  a  savior  to  gather  about  its  standard  the  remnant  that 
remained  true  to  the  living  Jewish  ideal.  As  such,  it  is  not  only  com- 
patible with  Judaism,  but  Judaism  without  it  is  not  compatible  with 
life. 

References: 

Zionism  and  the  Jewish  'Religion,  by  F.  S.  Spiers.    Zionism  and  Religious  Juda- 
ism, by  Israel  Friedlaender. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Jewish  nationalism  in  the  Jewish  festivals  and  holy  days.    Zionism  in  the  Bible 
(Quotations).     Zionism  in  the  Prayer  Book   (Quotations). 


125 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE    JEWISH    LAW    AND    THE    JEWISH    LAND* 
Confusion  in  Use  of  Term  "Jewish"  to  Designate  Land  and  Religion 

The  difficulty  which  presents  itself  in  the  consideration  of  this 
question  arises  out  of  the  confusion  caused  by  the  use  of  the  word 
"Jewish".  The  Jewish  land  is  so-called  because  it  is  the  land  of  our 
forefathers,  to  which  our  people  are  turning  for  the  purpose  of  re-ac- 
quiring a  home  there.  The  term  does  not  connote  a  land  inhabitated 
exclusively  by  Jews.  It  is  a  land  which  will  ultimately  be  largely 
settled  by  Jews,  who  will  become  the  dominant  element  in  the  popula- 
tion and  exercise  the  strongest  influence  on  its  economic  and  legal 
policy  and  development. 

The  Jewish  law  is  the  law  of  the  Jews,  but  not  necessarily  the 
law  of  the  Jewish  land.  Furthermore,  we  must  take  care  in  speaking 
of  Jewish  law  to  distinguish  sharply  between  the  religious  and  the 
secular  law.  Although  both  have  the  same  origin,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  Jewish  law  recognizes  its  division  into  law  relating  to  matters  of 
faith  and  ritual,  or  what  we  should  call  religious  law,  and  law  relating 
to  matters  of  property,  contract,  wrongs,  crimes,  or  what  we  should 
call  civil  law.  The  administration  of  the  religious  law  is  the  function 
of  the  Church ;  the  administration  of  the  civil  law  is  the  function  of  the 
state.  x  Where  there  is  a  state  church  or  a  national  religion  exercising 
a  direct  influence  in  governmental  affairs,  the  state  may  also  make 
and  administer  religious  law;  but  Zion  will  be  a  modern  state  in 
which  church,  or  rather  synagogue,  and  state  will  be  absolutely 
divorced!  In  Zion,  Jews  may  live  a  Jewish  life,  and  Judaism  may 
flourish  free  from  the  interference  of  alien  and  hostile  religious  sys- 
tems, but  no  religion  or  religious  observance  will  be  forced  on  either 
Jews  or  non-Jews.  The  Jewish  religious  law  is  entirely  beyond  the 
sphere  of  modern  state  legislation.  In  Zion,  as  in  all  other  modern 
states,  breach  of  religious  law  will  be  a  social  and  not  a  legal  offense. 
Social  forces  will  exact  a  certain  conformity  to  it  and  social  ostracism 
may  punish  its  breach.    Much  of  the  confusion  of  thought  which  has 

*  By  David  Werner  Amram.  The  views  herein  expressed  are  personal  to  the 
author. 

126 


THE  JEWISH  LAW  AND  THE  JEWISH  LAND 

manifested  itself  in  reference  to  this  problem  would  disappear,  if  we 
would  speak  of  the  Palestinian  State  or  Judaea  or  the  Zion  Republic 
or  the  Land  of  Israel  instead  of  the  Jewish  State  or  the  Jewish  Land. 

Separation  of  Religious  from  Secular  Law 

To  recapitulate,  the  Jewish  land,  being  a  land  occupied  by  Jews 
and  non-Jews,  must  have  a  system  of  laws  wherein  the  religious  and 
the  civil  law  are  separate.  The  former  being  administered  by  the 
religious  organization  of  society  and  not  by  the  state,  may  be  as 
varied  as  the  religious  groups;  the  latter  being  administered  by  the 
state  and  not  by  the  church,  or  synagogue  or  mosque,  should  be 
uniform  and  equally  binding  on  all  the  people.  There  may  be  some 
legal  categories  that  partake  of  the  nature  of  both  civil  and  religious 
law,  as  for  example,  the  law  of  domestic  relations,  and  for  these,  special 
provision  will  have  to  be  made  in  the  system. 

Secular  Law  in  a  Modern  Palestinian  State 

The  entire  problem  of  the  law  in  Palestine  depends  on  the  inter- 
pretation which  the  Powers  will  permit  the  people  of  Palestine  to 
give  to  their  life.  If  Palestine  is  to  be  an  asylum  for  oppressed  and 
exiled  Jews,  it  will  be  a  place  of  vastly  different  complexion  than  if  it 
is  to  become  the  ground  upon  which  Jews  will  build  up  a  new  nation, 
incorporating  the  existing  communities  and  such  other  people,  of 
whatever  race  or  faith,  who  may  choose  to  go  there  hereafter.  The 
Ghetto  conception  of  the  New  Zion  may  be  dismissed  as  practically 
impossible.  Ghettos  arise  only  among  unfree  people  living  in  limited 
areas.  No  Ghetto  can  arise  among  people  living  an  agricultural  or 
farming  life.  Neither  the  free  people  living  in  the  Jewish  villages 
today,  nor  the  many  who  will  go  there,  can  be  presumed  to  desire  to 
establish  a  religious,  rabbinically-governed  state  in  Palestine.  All 
that  has  been  said  by  Zionists  in  America  and  Europe  indicates  that 
the  state  in  Palestine  is  intended  to  be  a  modern  state  in  which  religion 
and  politics  are  to  be  kept  separate. 

Influence  of  Jewish  Civil  Law 

The  Jewish  civil  law  will  be  one  of  the  sources  of  the  law  of  the 
new  state,  but  only  insofar  as  its  principles  are  in  conformity  with 
the  ideals  of  modern  jurisprudence  will  they  be  considered  as  at  all 
essential  in  its  legal  thought.  The  Palestinian  state,  for  its  own  sake 
and  for  the  sake  of  the  principle  upon  which  it  shall  be  established, 
cannot  permit  rules  and  principles  of  an  older  day  to  limit  and  deflect 

127 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

the  healthy  growth  of  a  modern  community.  The  law  which  shall 
again  go  forth  from  Zion  will  be  a  law  acceptable  to  all  the  free  men 
of  the  world. 

The  foregoing  observations  broadly  indicate  the  probable  fate 
of  the  Jewish  law  in  Palestine.  The  religious  law  will  be  left  to  the 
subtle  and  irresistible  influence  of  social  forces  working  silently 
through  the  logic  of  events,  and  may  be  modified  and  developed  by  a 
specifically  religious  Sanhedrin  which  may  be  invested  with  the  ample 
power  and  authority  of  its  ancient  prototype.  The  civil  law  will  be 
boldly  handled  by  the  national  legislature  and  courts,  and  will  be 
shaped  by  conscious  processes  of  legislation  and  judicial  decision. 

Changes  in  Jewish  Law 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  large  areas  of  the  field  of  old  Jewish 
civil  law  will  be  abandoned  or  modernized.  For  example,  the  old  law 
renders  women  and  children  incompetent  as  witnesses  in  legal  pro- 
ceedings. Can  this  continue  in  the  light  of  the  modern  conception 
of  the  civil  and  political  status  of  women  and  the  modern  rule  of 
evidence  that  children  who  know  the  difference  between  right  and 
wrong  may  testify,  the  question  of  credibility  in  each  case  being  left, 
as  in  all  other  cases,  to  the  tribunal?  American  Zionists,  by  declaring 
for  political  and  civil  equality  irrespective  of  race,  sex,  or  faith  of  all 
the  inhabitants  of  the  land,  have  expressed  the  opinion  that  the  Jewish 
law,  insofar  as  it  militates  against  this  declaration,  should  be  abolished. 
To  take  an  example  from  the  field  of  partly  religious,  partly  civil  law, 
shall  the  state  recognize  mixed  marriages?  The  Jewish  law  does  not 
recognize  such  marriages  and  no  doubt  may  continue  to  deprive  the 
parties  of  their  rights  as  members  of  the  religious  community,  but  the 
law  of  Zion  must  recognize  such  marriages  created  by  civil  contract 
and  must  provide  for  their  solemnization  by  civil  authority.  No  doubt 
such  marriages  will  be  infrequent,  but  when  they  do  occur  they  must 
be  sanctioned  by  law.  Declaring  them  illegal,  because  Jewish  or 
Moslem  religious  law  does  not  recognize  them,  will  create  rather 
than  solve  a  problem.  We  may  go  further  and  take  for  granted  that 
even  the  purely  religious  law  will  be  modified  by  custom  or  San- 
hedrial  legislation. 

The  Palestinian  state  must  recognize  the  religious  day  of  rest  of 
every  religious  group,  and  allow  the  members  of  such  group  to  work 
on  any  other  day.  The  Jew  resting  on  the  seventh  day  may  work  on 
the  first.  But  what  of  the  Jew  who  works  on  the  seventh  day?  He 
may  be  deprived  of  synagogal  or  religious  rights,  but  can  the  old 

128 


THE  JEWISH  LAW  AND  THE  JEWISH  LAND 

Jewish  law  be  invoked  to  punish  him?  Obviously  not.  Who  would 
attempt,  even  if  it  were  legally  possible,  to  enforce  the  old  law  that 
provides  the  death  penalty  for  the  Sabbath-breaker?  Until  the  Pales- 
tinian State  becomes  autonomous,  its  Jewish  courts  will  have  no 
criminal  jurisdiction,  and  when  the  State  shall  become  autonomous 
its  courts  will  no  longer  be  Jewish  in  the  sense  that  they  will  be 
administering  Jewish  religious  law.  Nor  will  they  be  administering 
Jewish  civil  law  except  as  it  has  been  modified  to  conform  to  modern 
juristic  thought.  The  Jewish  civil  law,  that  is  to  say,  the  law  of  the 
Jewish  land,  will  be  an  amalgam  of  Jewish,  Moslem,  Turkish,  English, 
and  international  law,  welded  into  a  modern  system  inspired  by 
world  thought. 

The  old  Jewish  criminal  law,  practically  obsolete  for  centuries, 
will  never  be  revived.  It  lives  only  in  the  Yeshibot  as  an  exercise 
in  legal  logic.  Much  of  the  Jewish  criminal  law  applied  to  Jews  only, 
for  example  the  case  just  cited,  breaking  the  Sabbath.  A  Gentile 
cannot  be  guilty  of  a  breach  of  the  Jewish  law  which  binds  Jews  only. 
But  whatever  is  a  crime  for  Jews  only,  cannot  be  crime  at  all  in  the 
Palestinian  state  in  which  Jews  and  non-Jews  are  equal  before  the 
law.  Eating  forbidden  food  was  severely  punished  by  flagellation. 
But  non-Jews  cannot  be  punished  for  this  offense,  because  they  are 
not  bound  by  the  restriction  which  the  law  placed  on  the  Jew's  diet. 
Shall  the  law  in  Zion  penalize  non-Jews  for  eating  forbidden  food? 
Obviously  not.  Then  it  cannot  punish  Jews  for  this  offense,  and  we 
are  driven  to  the  legal  conclusion  that  a  Jew  may  eat  forbidden  food 
with  legal  impunity  in  Zion.  A  modern  state  cannot  classify  crimes 
according  to  the  racial  or  religious  character  of  the  offender. 

Shall  the  death  penalty  for  murder  be  inflicted?  The  Jewish 
law  is  clear  on  this  point,  and  insists  on  the  death  of  the  murderer. 
But  it  is  quite  probable  that  the  legislative  authority  in  Zion  will 
abolish  this  survival  of  ancient  systems  of  penology,  which  investiga- 
tion has  proven  inefficient,  and  which  a  more  refined  sense  of 
the  relation  of  men  in  society  has  declared  a  barbarism.  It  is  most 
likely  that  in  Zion  social  and  economic  conditions,  which  are  the 
fundamental  causes  of  most  crimes,  will  be  so  readjusted  as  to 
minimize  criminal  acts.  The  example  of  the  existing  Jewish  settle- 
ments shows  that  crime  may  practically  disappear  in  communities  in 
which  social  justice  is  an  actuality  instead  of  a  mere  hope.  And  when 
crime  does  appear,  it  will  be  recognized  as  the  result  of  disease  rather 
than  of  wickedness. 

129 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 
The  Administrators  of  Law 

As  the  law  of  Zion  will  not  be  merely  the  old  Jewish  law  but  a 
new  and  modernized  system  of  jurisprudence,  there  is  no  reason  why 
any  competent  person  may  not  act  as  its  administrator.  Zion  will  be 
a  state  in  which  no  religious  test  of  fitness  for  civil  or  political  rights 
will  be  admitted.  Social  selection  will  determine  the  choice  of  judges, 
and  when  the  community  is  preponderatingly  Jewish  the  judges  will 
be  mostly  Jews.  But  none  will  or  ought  to  be  excluded  from  full 
participation  in  all  public  functions  by  reason  of  religious  or  racial 
affiliations.  A  contrary  principle  would  destroy  the  entire  raison 
d'etre  of  the  Palestinian  state,  except  as  an  asylum  for  the  oppressed. 
This,  while  eminently  desirable,  is  not  the  object  of  Zionism  as  con- 
ceived by  its  modern  interpreters. 

The  People  will  Recreate  a  Law  to  Live  By 

However  reasonable  our  view  of  future  events  may  appear  to  us, 
the  events  themselves  may  mock  our  effort  to  anticipate  them.  The 
law  in  Palestine  will  be  made  by  its  people,  and  until  we  know  who 
they  are,  what  they  want,  and  how  they  will  express  their  will,  we 
can  only  grope  blindly  toward  a  solution  of  the  problem  we  have  set 
ourselves.  Of  two  things  we  may  be  assured:  first,  that  changes  in 
the  law  will  be  made,  and  that  the  existing  law  will  be  adapted  to  the 
conditions  of  a  new  social  life ;  second,  that  the  future  administrators 
and  interpreters  of  the  law  will  find  ample  authority  for  their  method 
of  changing  the  law  and  for  the  changes  themselves  in  the  law  as  it 
exists.  Every  system  of  law  is  inherently  endowed  with  the  power 
to  change  itself,  and  it  confers  that  power  through  inevitable  necessity 
on  persons  whom  it  qualifies  in  anticipation  of  their  appointment,  or 
in  ratification  of  their  accomplished  acts.  Neither  the  Jewish  religious 
law  nor  the  Jewish  civil  law  can  remain  immutable.  Legal  unchange- 
ableness  is  a  legal  fiction.  The  laws  were  given  that  man  might  live 
by  them,  and  the  Talmudist  who  interpreted  this  Biblical  text  to  mean 
"not  to  die  by  them",  uttered  a  dictum  which  may  well  be  invoked  by 
future  legal  reformers  in  Palestine  in  support  of  the  radical  changes 
that  a  new  era  may  demand.* 

*  See  Appendix  I,  p.  226,  for  a  note  on  the  subject  matter  of  this  Chapter. 

130 


THE  JEWISH  LAW  AND  THE  JEWISH  LAND 

References: 

The  Law  in  the  Jewish  State,  by  D.  W.  Amram.  The  Macoabaean,  Vol.  31,  p. 
275,  1918.  Some  Aspects  of  the  Growth  of  Jewish  Law,  by  D.  W.  Amram,  The  Green 
Bag,  June  and  July,  1896.  "The  Load"  and  the  Law  of  Change,  by  Nathan  Isaacs, 
University  of  Pennsylvania  Law  Beview,  Vol.  65,  pp.  659,  679.  The  Jewish  Law  in 
the  Jewish  State,  by  Nathan  Isaacs,  The  Jewish  Forum,  1918,  p.  29. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Social  legislation  in  the  Pentateuch  (Quotation).  Talmudic  laws  in  relation 
to  women. 


131 


CHAPTER  XX 

SOCIAL    JUSTICE    IN    THE    JEWISH    STATE 
Our  Present  Opportunity  and  Our  Past  Tradition 

In  the  Zionist  social  opportunity,  we  have  the  remarkable  and 
unique  combination  of  a  practically  clean  slate  to  write  upon  and  of 
a  progressive,  cultivated  people  to  do  the  writing.  We  will  have  few 
precedents  to  overcome.  Even  the  United  States  had  not  so  free  a 
hand,  for  there  was  less  opportunity  for  planning  in  advance,  and 
there  was  not  a  unified  people  to  carry  its  plans  into  effect.  Yet  the 
Western  states,  which  came  nearer  to  this  ideal  than  the  East,  are 
far  more  progressive  and  democratic.  More  important,  however,  than 
our  practical  freedom  is  our  spiritual  tradition.  Our  Prophets  were 
they  who  helped  teach  to  the  world  the  ideal  of  democracy.  The  social 
legislation  laid  down  by  Moses  before  the  Jewish  state  came  into  being  is 
still  a  model  for  the  most  advanced  democracies,  and  as  the  world 
progresses,  we  discover  ever  new  depths  of  national,  intra-national 
and  international  morality  in  our  Bible  which  gain  meaning  from  our 
modern  problems,  and  hold  the  solution  that  humanity  seeks.  The 
new  Jewish  law  will  no  doubt  be  found  to  embody  all  the  important 
principles  of  the  old,  which  are  capable  of  application  in  every  age 
and  express  the  essential  character  of  the  Jewish  spirit.  Their  con- 
crete application  will  necessarily  vary  in  accordance  with  changed 
conditions.  This  variation  will  not  mean  a  surrender  of  any  valid 
principle,  but  the  adoption  of  the  necessary  method  of  making  such 
principles  effective  in  modern  society.  Jewish  law  has  developed 
thus  throughout  the  ages,  even  when  theorizing  alone  was  left  to  us, 
and  it  holds  within  itself  the  seeds  of  development.  There  will  be  an 
evolution  in  Jewish  law  but  not  a  revolution,  and  the  new  law  will 
resemble  the  old  in  the  same  way  that  the  man  of  forty  resembles  the 
youth  of  twenty,  despite  the  changes  that  the  years  have  wrought  in 
his  body  and  soul.  Change  in  the  concrete  form  of  the  law  is,  however, 
inevitable.  (See  Ch.  XIX.)  Our  genius  has  been  that  of  law-givers. 
Our  past  puts  on  us  this  tremendous  obligation  which  we  must  expect 
ourselves,  and  which  the  world  also  expects  us  to  meet. 

132 


SOCIAL  JUSTICE  IN  THE  JEWISH  STATE 

Democratic  Organization  of  Zionism 

The  Zionist  Organization,  at  least,  has  fulfilled  this  obligation 
from  the  start.  Its  form  is  completely  democratic.  In  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Organization,  there  is  universal  equal  suffrage  for  both  men 
and  women.    The  government  is  representative  and  by  elected  committees. 

Social  Problems  in  Modern  Palestine 

In  Palestine,  in  spite  of  the  small  present  population  of  the 
country,  which  gives  us  practical  freedom  for  the  future,  certain 
social  and  economic  problems  already  exist,  which  it  should  be  our 
first  business  to  solve.  These  are  as  follows:  The  conditions  of 
poverty  in  the  towns,  where  the  old  quarters  are  horribly  unsanitary, 
where  among  certain  sections  of  the  people  there  have  been  genera- 
tions of  filth,  disease,  dependence,  underfeeding  and  ignorance;  bad 
hygienic  conditions  through  bad  engineering,  such  as  inadequate  or 
poor  water-supply,  swamps  and  other  conditions  that  breed  vermin; 
improper  housing,  even  in  some  of  the  new  Jewish  villages,  where  the 
poorer  working  people  have  lived  under  conditions  that  compare 
unfavorably  with  American  and  European  slums;  the  extremely  low 
standard  of  the  native  Arab  population,  which  reacts  badly  also  on 
the  Jewish  settlers  in  keeping  down  the  wages  of  Jewish  workmen ; 
the  problem  of  the  Yemenite  or  Arabian  Jews,  whose  standard  of 
living  approaches  that  of  the  native  Arabs,  and  who  are  therefore 
contented  to  accept  wages  which  are  nowhere  near  a  living  wage  for 
the  Russian  Jewish  workman ;  the  wage  problem  in  general ;  the  lack 
of  industry  and  commerce  and  the  consequent  dearth  of  employment ; 
the  growth  of  a  small  capitalist  class  with  private  holdings  in  land 
and  natural  resources ;  and,  finally,  the  whole  question  of  the  relation 
between  Jews,  Arabs,  and  other  nationalities  in  the  land.  A  mass 
migration  of  Jews,  planned  in  advance  and  based  upon  principles  as 
definite  as  those  by  which  Moses  guided  the  mass  migration  from 
Egypt,  will  solve  many  of  these  problems  automatically.  Several  of 
them  have  already  been  appreciably  lessened  by  recent  events.  For 
example:  It  was  Turkish  taxation  and  mal-administration  that  kept 
the  people  poor  and  wages  down;  it  was  largely  the  Halukkah — a 
system  that  during  the  war  failed  to  function — which  perpetuated 
Jewish  dependency.  British  engineering  has  already  improved  water 
and  other  hygienic  conditions.  So  far  as  numbers  go,  these  are  all 
miniature  problems,  which  need  not  reproduce  themselves,  especially 
since  the  Zionist  Organization,  as  well  as  the  Jewish  pioneers  in  Pales- 

133 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

tine,  have  already  created  instruments  of  justice  to  forestall  or  correct 
them. 

Zionist  Instruments  for  Social  and  Economic  Justice 

The  Zionist  Organization,  early  in  its  history,  created  two  finan- 
cial institutions  based  upon  ideals  that  are  thoroughly  Jewish — that 
is,  democratic  and  just — and  which  have  already  had  and  are  destined 
still  more  to  have  a  great  influence  on  Palestinian  development.  These 
are  the  Jewish  National  Fund  and  the  Jewish  Colonial  Trust.  (See 
Ch.  XI.)  The  National  Fund  is  based  on  the  principle  that  the  land 
in  Palestine  should  belong  to  the  whole  Jewish  people,  and  should 
be  only  leased  to  individuals  on  long  term  and  hereditary  leases,  under 
such  guarantees  and  safeguards  as  to  make  profiteering  impossible. 
Naturally  the  holdings  of  the  J.  N.  F.,  administered  on  these  principles, 
have  in  the  past  been  limited.  The  Jewish  Colonial  Trust,  with  it? 
democratic  system  of  shareholding,  bids  fair  to  become  a  government 
bank,  controlled  by  the  people,  which  would  from  the  first  eliminate 
private  banking  and  make  the  giving  of  rural  credits  a  government 
function.  In  Palestinian  colonization  the  Zionist  Organization  has 
consistently  supported  only  those  schemes  which  embodied  Jewish 
ideals  of  social  and  economic  justice.  The  two  co-operative  workmen's 
farms,  Dagania  and  Merhavia,  which  were  planned  by  Dr.  Franz 
Oppenheimer  with  a  view  to  profit-sharing  and  ultimate  complete  con- 
trol of  the  villages  by  the  workmen,  were  founded  on  National  Fund 
land  and  with  the  aid  of  the  Zionist  Congress.  In  America  the  Zion 
Commonwealth,  with  its  features  of  social  legislation,  has  been  sanc- 
tioned by  the  Organization  and  works  in  relation  with  it.  The  Zion 
Commonwealth  is  a  nation-wide  organization  of  American  Jews  who 
wish  to  settle  later  on  their  own  land  in  Palestine.  The  members 
buy  land  certificates  in  the  Commonwealth,  through  partial  payments, 
which  entitle  them,  after  a  period  of  six  years,  to  a  piece  of  agricul- 
tural land  on  which  they  may  either  settle  or  which  will  be  worked 
for  them  by  the  Corporation — on  a  co-operative  basis  of  labor — and  will 
pay  them  a  certain  small  definite  percentage  on  their  investment.  At 
least  ten  per  cent,  of  all  land  will  be  retained  by  the  Corporation  for 
communal  purposes,  all  town  lands  being  so  held,  and  the  land  can 
be  sold  only  to  the  Corporation  or  with  the  consent  of  the  Corporation, 
and  at  a  fixed  sum  excluding  all  profit  beyond  the  regular  percentages. 
All  land  values  beyond  this  fixed  agricultural  value  will  revert  to 
the  community.  Thus,  although  the  individual  has  the  benefits  of 
private  possession,  private  ownership  is  not  permitted  to  become  an 
abuse  of  public  rights. 

134 


SOCIAL  JUSTICE  IN  THE  JEWISH  STATE 

Democracy  in  Jewish  Palestine 

The  Jewish  villages  in  Palestine  were  from  the  first  autonomous  and, 
without  any  agreement  or  inter-village  organization,  all  developed  demo- 
cratic forms  of  community  government.  That  was  a  natural  sequel  to 
democratic  Jewish  community  life  wherever  else  Jewish  communities 
have  been  autonomous.  Both  men  and  women  have  voted  for  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Vaad  or  town  committee,  and  have  served  on  it;  but  in 
some  cases  there  have  been  property  qualifications  for  voters,  a  thing 
not  to  be  tolerated  in  our  new  state.  The  public  school  system  in  Jewish 
Palestine,  even  in  the  pre-war  days,  had  reached  a  high  state  of 
development.  The  Jewish  devotion  to  education  is  closely  bound  up 
with  the  instinct  for  democracy,  which  is  possible  only  where  there 
is  general  education.  Other  forms  of  co-operation  adopted  early  by 
the  Jewish  settlers  themselves  were :  ( 1 )  Mutual  loan  societies,  whereby 
farmers  were  organized  in  groups,  guaranteeing  each  other's  credit, 
and  so  securing  loans  from  banks  and  societies  on  fair  terms.  This 
is  the  most  effectual  means  of  eliminating  the  loan  sharp  evil,  and  it 
is  only  now  that  we  in  the  United  States  are  beginning  to  catch  up 
with  this  program.  (2)  Sales  organizations  among  the  Jewish  farmers. 
Two  societies  practically  control  the  production,  sale,  and  export  of 
oranges  in  Palestine.  The  co-operative  vine-growers'  associations  now 
control  the  famous  wine-cellars  of  Rishon  l'Zion,  and  have  stabilized 
the  investments  in  that  important  industry.  (3)  The  Teachers'  Union 
practically  controls  education  in  the  only  possible  democratic  way. 
(4)  Hashomer.  (5)  Co-operative  workmen's  organizations  for  buying 
and  selling  and  mutual  protection.  A  force  for  social  justice  in  Palestine 
is  the  two  workingmen's  organizations,  Hapoel  Hazair  and  the  Poale  Zion, 
the  Socialist  faction  of  the  Zionist  Organization.  (See  Ch.  XV.)  In 
Palestine  they  have  organized  workmen's  unions,  published  workmen's 
journals,  taken  part  in  the  co-operative  system  of  Shomerim,  or  Jewish 
police  force,  for  guarding  the  Jewish  villages  against  marauders,  and 
furnished  most  of  the  members  for  the  co-operative  workmen's  colonies. 

Democracy  among  Zionists 

But  although  the  Poale  Zion  are  the  specifically  Socialist  wing 
of  the  Zionists,  the  large  majority  of  Zionists,  as  individuals,  are 
social-minded,  with  the  natural  Jewish  tendency  to  erect  the  Jewish 
state  along  lines  of  social  justice.  As  for  the  organization  and  the 
official  utterances  and  acts  of  its  leaders,  they  are  all  in  agreement. 

135 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Many  writers  on  the  Zionist  position,  from  Moses  Hess  to  Louis  D. 
Brandeis — and  more  especially  Herzl  in  all  his  writings — have 
emphasized  the  social  and  democratic  aspects  of  the  movement,  and, 
indeed,  it  is  these  aspects  which  have  chiefly  attracted  and  interested 
many  of  our  leaders,  notably  Brandeis  himself.  Herzl  it  was  who 
advocated  the  seven-hour  work  day  and  other  forms  of  progressive 
economic  organization.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  that  one  of 
the  first  acts  of  the  Zionist  Commission  was  to  prevent  the  buying  of 
land  for  speculative  purposes,  nor  that  the  Zionist  Convention  held  in 
the  United  States,  at  Pittsburgh,  in  the  June  following  the  British 
Declaration  (see  Ch.  XIV)  should  have  unanimously  adopted  the  follow- 
ing program: 

The  Pittsburgh  Program 

In  1897,  the  first  Zionist  Congress  at  Basle  defined  the  object  of 
Zionism  to  be  "the  establishment  of  a  publicly  recognized  and  legally 
secured  homeland  for  the  Jewish  people  in  Palestine."  The  recent 
declarations  of  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy,  and  others  of  the  Allied 
democratic  states  have  established  this  public  recognition  of  the 
Jewish  national  home  as  an  international  fact. 

Therefore  we  desire  to  affirm  anew  the  principles  which  have 
guided  the  Zionist  movement  since  its  inception  and  which  were 
the  foundations  laid  down  by  our  lawgivers  and  Prophets  for  the 
ancient  Jewish  state,  and  were  the  inspiration  of  the  living  Jewish 
law  embodied  in  the  traditions  of  two  thousand  years  of  exile. 

First.  Political  and  civil  equality  irrespective  of  race,  sex,  or 
faith  of  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  land. 

Second.  To  insure  in  the  Jewish  national  home  in  Palestine 
equality  of  opportunity,  we  favor  a  policy  which,  with  due  regard  to 
existing  rights,  shall  tend  to  establish  the  ownership  and  control  of 
the  land  and  of  all  natural  resources  and  of  all  public  utilities  by 
the  whole  people. 

Third.  All  land,  owned  or  controlled  by  the  whole  people,  should 
be  leased  on  such  conditions  as  will  insure  the  fullest  opportunity  for 
development  and  continuity  of  possession. 

Fourth.  The  co-operative  principle  should  be  applied  so  far  as 
feasible  in  the  organization  of  all  agricultural,  industrial,  commercial, 
and  financial  undertakings. 


SOCIAL  JUSTICE  IN  THE  JEWISH  STATE 

Fifth.  The  fiscal  policy  shall  be  framed  so  as  to  protect  the 
people  from  the  evils  of  land  speculation  and  from  every  other  form 
of  financial  oppression. 

Sixth.  The  system  of  free  public  instruction  which  is  to  be 
established  should  embrace  all  grades  and  departments  of  education. 

Seventh.  The  medium  of  public  instruction  shall  be  Hebrew,  the 
national  language  of  the  Jewish  people. 

Interpretation  of  the  Program 

The  inferences  to  be  drawn  from  these  principles  are  far  reaching. 
The  first  has  a  direct  bearing  on  the  Arab  question  and  the  Jewish 
obligation  of  equal  justice  toward  what  after  a  large  Jewish  immi- 
gration will  become  a  minority  people.  The  second  probably  will 
embody  itself  in  some  such  system  as  the  Single  Tax  which  tends  to 
destroy  private  ownership  without  any  forcible  dispossession  of  indi- 
viduals. As  we  begin  with  a  clean  slate,  and  with  such  instruments 
as  the  J.  C.  T.  and  the  J.  N.  F.  to  carry  out  our  policies,  it  should 
be  comparatively  easy  to  keep  control  of  natural  resources.  In  an 
agricultural  country,  such  as  Palestine  is  destined  always  to  be,  the 
land  and  natural  resources  are  at  the  base  of  every  social  and  economic 
question.  This  is  essentially  true  even  of  industrial  states,  but  there 
it  is  not  so  self-evident.  Hence  the  most  important  step  is  to  adopt 
a  just  land  policy.  Out  of  it  will  naturally  grow  what  may  be  called 
modified  or  adapted  Socialism,  that  is,  Socialist  theory  adapted  to 
the  particular  needs  of  our  society  and  our  land.  The  seventh  article 
in  the  Program  refers  to  an  internal  Jewish  question,  and  is  directed 
against  Yiddish.  It  has  no  reference  to  Arabic,  which  must  of  course 
be  duly  respected,  and  which,  as  a  very  widely  used  language  in 
the  Orient,  and  as  one  closely  related  to  Hebrew,  will  naturally  have 
its  place  in  all  the  schools.  Nor  is  there  any  intention  to  prohibit 
the  instruction  of  Arabs  by  means  of  Arabic,  if  they  so  desire. 

The  Basis  of  Social  Justice 

The  ideal  of  social  justice  in  Palestine  is  based  on  a  simple  Biblical 
conception,  that  of  Palestine  as  the  holy  land,  which  is  only  lent  to  us 
to  administer  it. 

"The  land  is  Mine,"  saith  the  Lord. 

"And  the  land  shall  not  be  sold  in  perpetuity;  for  the  land  is 
Mine;  for  ye  are  strangers  and  settlers  with  Me.  And  in  all  the 
land  of  your  possession  ye  shall  grant  a  redemption  for  the  land." 
(Leviticus,  XXV,  23,  24). 

137 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

"Woe  unto  them  that  join  house  to  house, 

That  lay  field  to  field, 

Till  there  be  no  room,  and  ye  be  made  to  dwell 

Alone  in  the  midst  of  the  land!"  (Isaiah,  V,  8.) 

"Therefore,  because  ye  trample  upon  the  poor, 

And  take  from  him  exactions  of  wheat, 

Ye  have  built  houses  of  hewn  stone, 

But  ye  shall  not  dwell  in  them, 

Ye  have  planted  pleasant  vineyards, 

But  ye  shall  not  drink  the  wine  thereof."  (Amos,  V,  11.) 

References: 

The  Constitutional  Foundations  of  the  New  Zion,  by  H.   M.  Kallen.     Land 
Tenure  in  Palestine,  by  Jacob  Ettinger  and  Franz  Oppenheimer. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Modern  forms  of  social  injustice.     A  brief  statement  of  the  purpose  of  the 
Single  Tax. 


138 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE    GEOGRAPHY    OF    PALESTINE* 

A  General  Survey 

When  we  speak  of  a  country,  we  are  primarily  concerned  with 
the  inhabitants,  those  who  actually  live  in  it,  have  lived  in  it,  or  will 
live  in  it.  It  needs  no  special  argumentation  that  the  interest  of 
Palestine  for  us  lies  in  the  fact  that  it  formerly  was  the  home  of  the 
Jews,  and  that  it  will  again  become  so,  indeed,  is  becoming  so.  But 
it  is  a  truism  among  historians  that  a  people  are — at  least  in  part — 
what  the  country  they  live  in  makes  them.  Its  position  on  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  its  physical  features,  its  distribution  of  land  and  water, 
its  rocks  and  its  soil  and  the  things  dug  therefrom  or  planted  therein, 
the  winds  that  blow  over  it,  all  these  facts  are  not  merely  useful  as 
bits  of  general  information,  but  are  vitally  necessary  for  us  to  know, 
if  we  wish  to  understand  what  manner  of  men  dwell  in  the  country, 
what  they  may  be  able  to  accomplish,  and  what  things  are  denied  to 
them. 

The  Climate 

Palestine  is  a  sub-tropical  country.  That  means,  for  practical 
purposes,  that  Palestine  is  somewhat  hotter  than  New  York, 
but  it  is  not  nearly  as  hot  as  a  tropical  country,  Central  Africa,  for 
instance,  or  Southern  India.  There  are  indeed  parts  of  Palestine — the 
Jordan  valley,  e.  g.,  where  the  river  enters  the  Dead  Sea — which  in 
climate,  in  fauna  and  flora,  are  very  much  like  fully  tropical  regions, 
but  in  the  main  Palestine  has  a  climate  much  resembling  that  of  our 
Southern  states. 

The  first  great  effect  of  such  a  climate  is  that  though  life  in  the 
open  air  is  a  necessity,  it  has  dangers  of  its  own.  At  certain  seasons 
and  certain  hours,  almost  everywhere,  practically  all  the  inhabitants 
are  in  the  open  air,  though  it  is  not  always  in  the  streets  or  in  public 
places.  It  cannot  be  there,  for  the  simple  reason  that  shade  is  as 
necessary  as  air.  For  several  thousands  of  years  the  Palestinian  has 
found  a  means  of  securing  shade  and  air  in  his  house  by  the  simple 
methods  of  utilizing  inner  courts  and  the  flat  roofs  of  the  houses. 

*  By  Dr.  Max  Radin. 

139 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 
The  Water  Supply 

Palestine,  in  the  parts  that  are  most  associated  with  the  Jews,  is 
poorly  watered.  It  is  not  arid.  We  must  not  imagine  that  any  part 
of  Palestine  proper,  except  in  the  most  southerly  section,  presents 
anything  like  the  appearance  of  a  desert.  Nor  is  the  lack  of  water 
serious  enough  to  constitute  a  real  detriment  to  the  physical  well- 
being  of  the  inhabitants,  but  rain  is  infrequent  except  at  certain 
definite  times  of  the  year.  The  water  supply  must  be  carefully  hus- 
banded and  wisely  distributed.  It  will  admit  of  neither  waste  nor 
profusion.  Centuries  of  wretched  mismanagement  have  largely  con- 
tributed to  the  poverty  of  the  present  water  supply,  and  we  have 
every  right  to  believe  that  a  reasonably  competent  administration 
will  work  something  like  a  revolution  in  that  particular  respect. 

Vegetation 

The  effect  of  the  condition  just  described  on  the  land  is  the  rela- 
tive absence  of  trees,  especially  large  ones.  Trees  are  more  or  less 
plentiful  in  the  north,  although  even  here  much  less  numerous  than 
in  the  United  States.  But  in  Judaea  and  the  section  just  north  of 
it,  trees  of  any  kind  are  a  rarity.  But  if  trees  are  scarce,  there  is  an 
abundant  growth  of  other  things.  On  the  plains  and  some  of  the 
hillsides,  the  meadows  are  alive  with  flowers,  and  the  variety  is 
as  bewildering  as  the  display  is  dazzling.  There  are  few  more  gor- 
geous displays  on  the  face  of  the  earth  than  the  Spring  investiture  of 
the  plains  of  Sharon.  And  even  where  the  hues  are  less  alluring  there 
is  no  lack  of  green  shrubbery,  bearing  constant  witness  to  the  readi- 
ness of  the  soil  to  do  its  part,  if  man  will  do  his. 

Boundaries 

There  is  a  general  resemblance  between  the  map  of  Palestine 
and  the  map  of  the  State  of  New  Hampshire.  It  is  a  four-sided — 
perhaps  five-sided — figure,  of  which  one  side  tilts  northeast  and  of 
which  the  upper  part  is  markedly  narrower  than  the  lower.  Just  what 
its  boundaries  are  is  not  easy  to  determine. 

There  is  one  boundary  of  Palestine  that  cannot  readily  be  dis- 
puted and  that  is  the  western  boundary.  That  is  the  Mediterranean 
Sea.  The  southern  coast  of  Asia  Minor  and  the  northern  coast  of 
Egypt  and  Sinai  make  almost  right  angles  with  a  line  running  north 
and  south  and  marking  the  eastern  limit  of  the  Mediterranean.  One- 
fourth  of  this  line  is  the  western  boundary  of  Palestine.  At  the 
extreme  south  of  it  is  the  little  village  of  Rapha,  now  an  important 

140 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  PALESTINE 

station  on  the  railroad  that  made  Allenby's  campaign  possible.  It 
is  the  south-westerly  point  of  the  boundaries  of  Palestine. 

And  now  for  its  northern  limit:  Considerably  to  the  south  of 
Beirout,  which  before  the  war  was  fast  becoming  one  of  the  great 
cities  of  the  East,  between  the  ancient  Sidon  and  Tyre,  we  come  to 
the  mouth  of  a  river.  It  is  called  the  Nahr  el-Khasimiyeh,  and  at 
least  for  part  of  its  course  it  is  called  the  Litany,  a  name  that  per- 
petuates its  ancient  designation,  the  Leontes  (not  the  Orontes,  as 
some  maps  mistakably  put  it).  That  Palestine,  on  its  western  border, 
goes  as  far  north  as  this,  will  not  be  seriously  gainsaid,  and  for  the 
present  we  shall  rest  content  with  that. 

This  coast,  from  Rapha  to  the  Khasimiyeh  is  practically  straight, 
until  we  come  to  Haifa,  the  Bay  of  Akko  or  Acre,  the  first  step  in  the 
"Syrian  Stair".  The  straight  shore  line  is,  of  course,  a  geographic 
fact  of  the  first  importance.  It  means,  with  the  exception  noted,  that 
there  are  no  harbors.  It  is  true  that  the  absence  of  harbors  can  be 
partially  overcome  by  the  erection  of  artificial  moles  and  breakwaters, 
but  they  will  not  permit  the  creation  of  ports  that  can  seriously  com- 
pete with  those  in  the  vicinity  that  have  good  natural  harbors.  So 
we  shall  have  to  omit  from  our  calculations  the  making  of  even  Haifa 
into  a  port  that  shall,  at  least  under  conditions  that  are  not  likely  to 
change  for  a  long  time,  outdistance  Beirout  or  Alexandria  or  Port 
Said.  However,  at  Haifa  there  is  the  promise  that  a  harbor  can  at 
least  be  created  by  competent  engineering  (it  is  in  a  very  inchoate 
state  at  present),  which  will  be  adequate  for  a  certain  part  of  the 
commerce  that  we  are  confident  will  be  developed. 

Accepting  the  Khasimiyeh  as  the  northern  boundary — and  it  is  a 
deep  and  impressive  stream  for  that  region — we  may  follow  it  till  it 
abruptly  bends  to  the  north,  not  very  far  from  the  Jewish  settlement 
of  Metulah.  Taking  a  line  from  there,  due  east,  we  shall  have  a 
northern  boundary  that  we  are  not  likely  to  see  challenged. 

After  we  cross  the  Jordan  we  shall  not  go  far  before  we  strike 
the  great  Hedjaz  railroad,  running  between  Damascus  and  Medina. 
It  runs  through  what  is  a  desert  only  in  the  sense  that  it  has  been 
deserted  by  man.  It  was  not  always  a  desert  and  need  not  be  so. 
Somewhere  near  the  railroad  to  the  east  or  the  west  will  run  the 
eastern  boundary  of  Palestine,  perhaps  as  far  as  Ma'an,  which  is  an 
important  station.  That  would  permit  us  to  constitute  the  southern 
boundary  by  running  a  straight  line  from  Ma'an  to  Akabah  on  the 
gulf  of  that  name,  and  from  there,  almost  at  right  angles  to  Rapha 
on  the  Mediterranean,  from  which  we  started. 

141 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

The  line  from  Rapha  to  Akabah  is  the  official  limit  of  the 
Sultanate  of  Egypt.  That  cuts  off  from  Palestine  the  whole  of  the 
Sinai  peninsula  and  even  the  "River  of  Egypt"  (the  Wadi-el-Arish), 
which  in  ancient  times  were  usually  taken  as  the  southern  boundary  of 
Israelitish  pretensions.  Except  for  the  historic  connections  with 
Sinai  (if  the  Jebel  Musa  is  the  historic  Sinai;  and  the  matter  is  not 
free  from  doubt),  the  loss  of  Sinai  is  not  to  be  too  keenly  regretteH. 
It  might,  however,  be  well  to  recall  in  passing,  that  it  was  precisely 
in  this  Sinaitic  peninsula  that  Lord  Cromer  hoped  to  establish  a  Jewish 
community.     (See  Ch.  X.) 

This,  then,  is  the  rough  outline  of  Palestine:  from  Rapha  on  the 
Mediterranean  north  to  the  mouth  of  the  Nahr  el  Khasimiyeh,  thence 
due  east  to  near  the  Hedjaz  Railroad;  from  there  south  to  a  point 
at  or  near  Ma'an ;  from  there  southwest  to  the  Gulf  of  Akabah  and 
again  northwest  back  to  Rapha.  This  makes  a  five-sided  figure,  of 
which  the  longest  side  is  about  180  or  200  miles  and  the  shortest  side 
cannot  be  more  than  60  and  may  be  much  less  than  that.  We  may 
say  that  roughly  it  equals  either  Massachusetts  alone,  or  Massachu- 
setts and  Connecticut  combined. 

The  Maritime  Plain 

What  sort  of  land  is  there  in  this  irregular  pentagon?  It  divides 
itself  quite  naturally  into  a  number  of  longitudinal  strips.  Beginning 
again  at  Rapha  and  following  the  coast  we  have  the  Maritime  Plain. 
We  have  first  the  ancient  Philistia,  so  long  a  thorn  in  the  side  of  Israel 
and  Judah,  which  continues  into  the  Plain  of  Sharon,  and  after  being 
interrupted  by  Mt.  Carmel,  is  continued  into  Phoenicia. 

This  maritime  plain,  which  varies  in  width  from  200  feet  at  the 
Bay  of  Acre,  to  30  miles  below  Jaffa,  is  of  remarkable  fertility.  Most 
of  the  Jewish  villages  are  located  here.  In  ancient  times  this  plain 
was  notable  not  merely  for  the  intrinsic  value  of  the  soil,  but  chiefly 
as  the  great  route  from  the  North  into  Egypt.  The  hosts  of  forgotten 
nations  rolled  along  here  to  and  from  the  granary  of  the  Nile,  and  kept 
so  close  to  the  shore  that  to  many  of  them  the  very  existence  of  such 
cities  as  Jerusalem  may  well  have  been  unknown.  The  southern  por- 
tion of  it,  seized  by  Cretan  pirates,  became  under  the  Philistines  the 
domain  of  a  confederation  of  cities  that  achieved  little  of  permanent 
value,  but  are  remembered  chiefly  for  having  given  Palestine  its  name, 
and  for  having  given  Israel  that  discipline  of  struggle  and  adversity 
from  which  alone  significant  nations  arise. 

142 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  PALESTINE 

North  of  Mt.  Carmel  was  the  region  occupied  by  the  earliest 
Semitic  invasion  of  Canaan,  that  of  the  Phoenicians.  The  great  group 
of  Phoenician  cities  performed  such  notable  functions  in  the  spread 
of  civilized  arts  that  the  petty  little  villages  that  alone  recall  the  glories 
of  Tyre  and  Sidon  are  melancholy  reminders  of  the  most  common- 
place of  historical  truisms.  This  section  of  the  maritime  plain  was 
never  a  part  of  Jewish  or  Israelitish  dominion  and  its  inclusion  in 
modern  Palestine  is  due  simply  to  considerations  of  geography. 

The  Maritime  Plain  is  cut  in  two  by  Mt.  Carmel,  which  juts  into 
the  sea  from  the  highlands  of  Samaria  to  the  Bay  of  Haifa.  That 
ancient  river,  the  River  Kishon,  flows  into  the  bay  past  Mt.  Carmel. 
And  just  north  of  Mt.  Carmel  the  great  plain  of  the  sea  is  continued 
into  the  broad  valley  of  Esdraelon,  straight  to  the  Jordan.  All  that 
can  be  said  of  the  fertility  and  economic  importance  of  the  coast  plain 
can  be  repeated  and  emphasized  of  Esdraelon.  Even  in  the  last 
years  of  the  Turkish  nightmare,  it  was  producing  great  quantities  of 
wheat  as  well  as  fruits  and  vegetables.  What  it  will  do  under  happier 
conditions  may  be  confidently  predicted. 

The  Shephela 

The  second  of  the  longitudinal  strips  which  constitute  Palestine 
consists  of  a  series  of  low  limestone  hills.  In  the  south  they  form 
the  Shephela,  in  which  the  date  and  olive  flourish  and  in  which  the 
coarser  forms  of  grain  will  readily  thrive.  North  of  Samaria  these 
hills  are  interrupted  by  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon  and  do  not  form  so 
recognizable  a  feature  of  the  land. 

The  Western  Mountain  Range 

It  is  the  next  strip,  the  Western  Mountain  Range,  that  has  seen 
the  major  part  of  Jewish  history.  And  it  is  precisely  with  the  most 
forbidding  and  least  fertile  section,  the  mountains  of  Judaea,  that  our 
holiest  memories  are  associated.  The  Jews  were  mountaineers,  high- 
landers.  If  the  bare  limestone  of  their  native  soil  offered  them  but  a 
niggardly  subsistence,  it  put  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  that  vastly 
higher  development  to  which  alone  the  Jews  owe  their  survival  and 
their  national  individuality.  Among  its  hills  stands  the  symbol  and 
crown  of  their  greatness,  the  Holy  City  of  Jerusalem.  Judaea  is  a  stony 
plateau  wholly  without  running  water,  but  none  the  less  capable  of  a 
certain  cultivation,  principally  of  olive  and  barley.  The  pasturing  of 
flocks — in  ancient  times  an  important  occupation — is  almost  precluded 
by  modern  conditions.  Pasturing  demands  larger  stretches  of  land 
than  an  intensively  organized  Palestine  can  afford. 

143 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

The  plateau  of  Judaea,  after  a  slight  depression,  is  almost  continu- 
ous with  the  highlands  of  Samaria,  the  Mount  of  Ephraim  of  the 
Bible.  Here,  however,  a  number  of  fertile  valleys  give  the  country  a 
wholly  different  aspect.  One  of  these  contains  both  Schechem  and 
Samaria,  the  capitals  of  Israel  and  sites  of  undoubted  importance  for 
future  development. 

As  we  cross  Esdraelon  again  to  enter  the  highlands  of  Galilee, 
it  is  in  a  wholly  different  region  that  we  find  ourselves.  There  are 
hills  covered  with  thick  shrubbery  which  might  well  be  trees.  Are  not 
the  cedars  of  Lebanon  not  far  off?  These  hills  of  Galilee  as  well  as 
the  valleys  below  them  were  once  thickly  populated.  Their  fertility 
is  apparent  from  the  fact  that  even  gross  neglect  has  not  impaired 
their  productivity.  And  if  Galilee  is  made  to  become  again  a  land 
dotted  with  thriving  towns,  there  will  rest  a  certain  responsibility  upon 
the  organizers  of  these  towns,  that  increase  in  well-being  shall  not, 
as  in  the  days  of  old,  be  deemed  a  reason  for  a  relative  neglect  of 
spiritual  growth. 

The  Jordan  Valley 

To  the  east,  the  hills  of  Galilee,  of  Samaria,  and  of  Judaea,  fall 
rapidly  into  the  Jordan  Valley,  which  has  been  denominated  "the 
deepest  trench  on  the  surface  of  the  earth."  Beginning  far  north  on 
the  slopes  of  Mt.  Hermon,  the  headwaters  of  the  Jordan  gather  into 
sizable  streams,  and  at  the  site  of  the  ancient  Dan  already  form  a  river 
to  be  reckoned  with.  It  flows  due  south,  as  the  bird  flies,  for  a  distance 
of  110  miles.  It  flows  at  very  nearly  the  level  of  the  sea  till  we  reach 
Lake  Huleh  (or  Merom),  the  smallest  and  most  northerly  of  the  three 
lakes  through  which  the  Jordan  runs.  Then  the  bed  sinks  rapidly,  as 
the  temperature  of  the  valley  rises,  until  at  about  the  northern  half 
of  Esdraelon  we  reach  the  sea  of  Gennesaret  (Lake  of  Tiberias,  Kin- 
neret,  Sea  of  Galilee),  680  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea,  in  a  warm 
fertile  valley  capable  of  indefinite  fruit  production.  The  lake  is  about 
70  square  miles  in  size.    It  abounds  in  many  sorts  of  fish. 

When  the  Jordan  leaves  Gennesaret,  it  descends  deeper  and  deeper 
through  the  deep  cleft  called  the  Ghor  to  the  Dead  Sea,  nearly  1,300 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  sea.  This  body  of  intensely  salt  water, 
400  square  miles  in  size,  is  one  of  the  most  famous  of  natural  pheno- 
mena. Yet  in  spite  of  its  fame — for  it  has  excited  the  interest  and 
curiosity  of  strangers  for  much  more  than  three  thousand  years — 
sections  of  the  shore  are  only  slightly  known.  Until  recently  the 
southern  part  of  its  eastern  region  was  distinctly  unsafe.     Besides 

144 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  PALESTINE 

the  luxuriant  fertility  of  the  entire  Ghor,  it  will  afford  an  admirable 
field  for  thorough  scientific  research. 

Transjordania 

As  far  as  sheer  richness  of  soil  is  concerned,  the  West-Jordan 
territory  must  yield  to  that  across  the  Jordan,  into  which  neglect  and 
maladministration  have  allowed  the  desert  to  creep  almost  to  the 
Jordan  valley.  Beginning  at  Mt.  Hermon — the  anti-Lebanon — we 
come  to  the  highlands  of  Iturea,  famous  in  Roman  times  for  the 
sturdy  soldiers  that  it  bred.  Below  Iturea  is  Bashan,  equally  famous 
for  its  forests  of  oaks  and  its  magnificent  cattle.  Very  few  of  the 
oaks  are  left.  Particularly  the  plains  are  almost  entirely  devoid  of 
trees.  But  there  is  everywhere  unmistakable  proof  that  this  is  due 
to  man's  improvidence  and  may  be  remedied. 

Iturea  and  Bashan  as  well  as  Golan,  right  at  the  Jordan,  form 
part  of  the  region  which  in  its  entirety  is  called  Hauran.  The  southern 
boundary  of  Hauran  is  at  the  River  Yarmuk,  a  rapid  and  perennial 
river  just  below  Gennesaret.  The  soil  of  the  whole  of  Hauran  is  of 
volcanic  origin  and,  as  in  all  such  cases,  of  remarkable  fertility. 

The  wheat  of  Hauran  in  variety  and  quality  is  famous  through- 
out the  East.  It  was  and  will  doubtless  again  become  one  of  the 
granaries  of  Syria. 

Further  than  that,  the  climate  of  Hauran,  with  its  even,  moderate 
days  and  cool  nights,  is  of  singular  amenity.  In  Greek  and  Roman 
times  the  region  just  below  the  Yarmuk,  which  is  of  much  the  same 
character  as  Hauran  itself,  was  the  seat  of  the  city-federation  known 
as  the  Decapolis.  Magnificent  ruins  attest  their  past  prosperity. 
With  modern  means  of  communication  and  a  modicum  of  pioneer 
effort,  there  is  practically  no  limit  to  the  possibilities  of  this  land.  In 
a  very  real  sense  the  wilderness  will  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose. 

Between  the  Yarmuk  and  the  vigorous  stream  of  the  Yabbok, 
about  forty  miles  further  south,  at  about  the  line  of  Samaria,  lies 
Gilead.  Gilead  is  a  series  of  limestone  hills.  Its  climate  is  like  that  of 
Hauran,  fresh  and  even,  and  its  fertility  almost  as  exuberant.  In 
marked  contrast  with  most  of  western  Palestine,  trees  are  fairly 
numerous,  and  the  country  is  lined  with  streams  that  could  be  admir- 
ably used  for  irrigation,  as  indeed  is  the  case  with  both  the  Yarmuk 
and  the  Yabbok  themselves. 

145 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Below  the  Yabbok  begin  the  ancient  lands  of  Israel's  hereditary 
enemies  and  kinsmen,  Ammon  and  Moab.  This  is  a  high  wind-swept 
plateau  of  gray  limestone,  bearing  wheat  and  abundant  pasture. 
Though  it  seems  difficult  to  associate  severe  winters  with  Palestine, 
the  winters  of  Moab  are  somewhat  too  rigorous.  The  Eastern  Plateau 
has  an  average  elevation  of  2,000  feet. 

At  present  Moab  and  Ammon  are  among  the  most  sparsely  in- 
habited parts  of  the  country.  That  is  due  to  the  fact  that  these  regions 
run  imperceptibly  into  the  desert  and  are  open  on  two  sides  to  Bedouin 
raids.  Only  a  vigorous  government,  that  has  no  such  interest  as  the 
Turks  had  in  perpetuating  tribal  feuds,  can  remedy  that  situation. 

The  country  to  the  south  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  little  known.  It 
has  rarely  been  visited  because  of  the  insecurity  of  the  trip,  although 
it  contains  such  famous  ruins  as  those  of  Petra.  There  can  be  no 
doubt,  however,  that  here  we  are  in  practically  a  real  desert  country. 
Doubtless  land  can  be  reclaimed  here,  particularly  for  pasture  pur- 
poses, and  irrigation  is  distinctly  feasible.  If  Akabah  becomes  an 
important  port,  the  rise  of  the  economic  value  of  the  whole  section  is 
assured. 

The  Negeb 

As  we  swing  west  again,  or  rather  northwest,  we  reach  Rapha 
over  the  Arabah,  the  ancient  Negeb  or  Parched  Land,  as  it  should  be 
correctly  rendered.  The  country  is  almost  waterless,  except  that  in 
the  short  rainy  season  the  dry  and  deep  gullies,  still  called  Wadis, 
suddenly  swell  into  torrents  and  waste  their  priceless  moisture  in  the 
thirsty  soil.  A  proper  husbanding  of  this  overflow  will  enable  newer 
settlers  to  utilize  even  this  uninviting  section,  as  it  seems  it  was 
utilized  in  Byzantine  times. 

This  sudden  filling  of  the  gullies,  dry  for  the  greater  part  of  tlTe 
year,  gives  life  to  the  exultant  simile  of  the  Shir  Hamaalot,  that  Song 
of  Ascents  (Psalm  126),  sung  in  countless  Jewish  homes  on  Friday 
evening.  "Turn  again  our  captivity,  O  Lord,  like  the  streams  in  the 
Negeb."  We  can  readily  imagine  with  what  a  sense  of  an  annual 
miracle  this  rapid  change  from  arid  waste  to  abundance  impressed  the 
ancient  dwellers.  Just  as  they  accepted  it  for  an  omen  for  themselves, 
those  who  look  forward  to  a  new  turning  of  the  captivity  may  equally 
take  as  the  type  and  model  of  their  renewed  life  the  streams  of  the 
Negeb,  the  turning  of  a  land  parched  by  human  neglect  and  wilful 
misuse  into  one  of  exuberant  and  living  productiveness. 

146 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  PALESTINE 

References: 

Palestine  and  its  Transformation,  by  Ellsworth  Huntington.  The  Holy  Land 
in  Geography  and  History,  by  Townsend  MacCoun.  Historical  Geography  of  the 
Holy  Land,  by  George  Adam  Smith.  Eres  Yisroel  (Yiddish),  by  Ben  Gorion  and 
Ben  Zvie. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  geology  of  Palestine.  Variations  of  climate  in  Palestine,  and  their  effects 
upon  industry  and  agriculture.     Palestine  and  California,  a  comparison. 


147 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE    GEOGRAPHY    OF     PALESTINE* 
Some  Economic  Notes 
The  Fertility  of  the  Land 

Unfortunately,  the  seeker  after  information  regarding  Palestine 
is  likely  to  be  met  by  conflicting  statements ;  for  the  literature  on 
Palestine,  both  Gentile  and  Jewish,  is  so  colored  by  sentiment  as  to  be 
largely  unreliable.  According  to  one  writer  Palestine  is  a  barren 
desert;  another  describes  it  in  the  Biblical  locution  as  "flowing  with 
milk  and  honey." 

In  reality  Palestine  is  neither  of  these  things.  Parts  of  it  are  un- 
usually fertile,  other  parts,  hopelessly  barren  to  the  unpractised  eye  of 
the  layman,  may  be  rendered  arable  by  means  of  fertilizing  and  irri- 
gating. Like  the  people  who  claim  it  as  its  heritage,  the  soil  of 
Palestine  has  undergone  centuries  of  ill-usage,  and  it  will  take  much 
time  and  effort  to  restore  it  to  its  maximum  of  productivity.  If,  under 
a  benevolent  and  farsighted  government,  a  proper  equilibrium  is 
established  between  husbandry,  industry  and  commerce,  Palestine 
can  undoubtedly  be  made  an  eminently  livable  land,  accommodating 
from  four  to  five  million  inhabitants,  each  thriving  under  his  own 
vine  and  fig  tree. 

Harbors 

The  coast  line  of  Syria,  and  particularly  of  Palestine,  is  unde- 
viating.  South  of  Beirout,  it  does  not  offer  any  natural  harbors.  The 
promontory  of  Mt.  Carmel  forms  a  shelter  which  promises  the  possi- 
bility of  development  into  a  good  harbor,  as  do  also  in  a  lesser  degree 
Sidon,  Athlit,  Jaffa,  Askalon  and  Gaza,  although  considerable  ingenu- 
ity and  expense  will  be  needed,  for  instance,  in  order  to  render  harm- 
less the  reefs  outside  of  Jaffa.  Nothing  but  ruins  remain  of  the 
historic  harbors  of  Tyre,  Artuf,  Caesarea,  etc. 

Hydrography 

Western  Palestine  is  poor  in  rivers,  having  but  few  transverse 

*  By  Nellie  Straus. 

148 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  PALESTINE 

perennial  streams,  the  Aujeh  north  of  Jaffa,  the  Kishon  near  Haifa, 
etc.,  all  flowing  into  the  Mediterranean.  Besides  these  there  are  a 
number  of  wadis  (winter  streams)  flowing  both  east  and  west  of  the 
watershed.  Transjordania  has  three  rivers;  the  Yarmuk  and  the  Jabbok 
flow  into  the  Jordan,  the  Arnon  into  the  Dead  Sea. 

The  most  important  tributaries  of  the  Yarmuk  are  the  Allan  and 
the  Ehreir,  both  of  them  long  and  rapid  streams.  The  rivers  of  Pales- 
tine are  not  navigable,  being  either  too  shallow  or  else  too  rapid  in 
their  course.  The  Jordan  has  both  defects,  possessing  seventeen  fords 
and  falling  about  436  metres  between  the  Lake  of  Merom  and  the 
Dead  Sea. 

An  important  feature  of  Palestinian  hydrography  is  the  springs 
and  fountains  which  play  throughout  the  year.  These  are  to  be  found 
chiefly  in  the  foothills  of  Mt.  Hermon  and  in  the  Galilean  and 
Samaritan  mountains.  In  some  cases  the  fountains  form  considerable 
pools  and  even  streams  which  run  a  short  course.  Besides,  Palestine, 
which  in  parts  seems  arid  on  the  surface,  possesses  a  rich  store  of 
water  in  its  depths  which  can  easily  be  brought  to  the  surface  by 
means  of  wells.  Along  the  coastal  plain,  water  is  to  be  found  at  a 
depth  corresponding  to  sea  level.  Pumping  stations  for  irrigation  pur- 
poses have  been  established  in  several  of  the  Jewish  villages. 

Climate 

No  other  territory  of  the  same  size  has  so  varied  a  climate  as 
Palestine.  This  variety  of  climate  has  brought  about  not  only  an  extraor- 
dinary diversity  of  animal  and  plant  life,  but  to  it  is  undoubtedly  to 
be  attributed  the  versatility  of  temperament  which  distinguishes  the 
children  of  Israel.  The  glowing  heat  of  the  Dead  Sea  region,  the 
milder  warmth  of  the  coastal  plain,  the  sub-Alpine  climate  of  Upper 
Galilee  where  the  white  head  of  Lebanon  is  always  visible — all  these 
are,  according  to  American  ideas,  almost  within  commuting  distance 
of  one  another.  The  mean  annual  temperature  is  75  degrees  F.  in  the 
Jordan  valley,  69  degrees  F.  in  the  coastal  plain,  61  degrees  F.  in  the 
mountain  regions.  Throughout  Palestine,  and  especially  in  Trans- 
jordania, there  are  tremendous  variations  of  temperature  from  day 
to  night. 

Frost  never  appears  in  the  Jordan  valley,  and  rarely  in  the  coastal 
plain,  but  it  is  frequent  in  the  mountain  ranges.  Even  as  far  south 
as  Jerusalem  there  is  a  light  snowfall  from  time  to  time. 

There  are  two  seasons  in  Palestine,  the  summer  or  dry  season 
lasting  from  April  through  October,  and  the  winter  or  rainy  season. 

149 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

The  autumn  rains  usually  begin  in  the  middle  of  November  and  last 
three  or  four  weeks ;  the  winter  rains  fall  during  January  and  Febru- 
ary, and  the  spring  rains  from  the  middle  of  March  to  the  end  of 
April.  The  rainfall,  which  varies  greatly  from  one  year  to  the  other, 
ranges  from  about  400  mm.  in  the  south  of  the  coastal  plain  (Gaza)  to 
610  mm.  in  Haifa.  It  is  greater  in  the  mountain  ranges  (660  mm.  in 
Jerusalem),  but  much  smaller  in  the  Jordan  valley  (200  mm.  in 
Jericho).  During  the  dry  season  a  heavy  dew  falls  in  the  coastal 
plain  and  the  mountain  districts. 

The  prevailing  wind  is  from  the  southwest.  In  spring  and  fall 
the  hot  sirocco  (Hamsin)  blows  from  the  Arabian  desert. 

The  fertility  of  Palestine,  especially  the  water  supply,  has  been 
modified  by  the  destruction  of  the  forests,  which  have  not  only 
been  hewn  down  for  fuel  by  the  natives,  but  left  to  the  mercy  of 
those  enemies  of  underbrush  and  saplings,  sheep  and  goats.  (We 
know  from  history  of  the  extensive  oak  forests  which  once  covered  the 
Plain  of  Sharon.)  This  absence  of  trees  is  also  responsible  for  the 
inland  march  of  the  sand.  The  coast  is  now  covered  with  shifting 
sand  dunes  which  did  not  exist  there  in  ancient  times. 

Health 

Palestine  is  emphatically  a  healthful  land.  What  diseases  are 
prevalent,  malaria,  trachoma  and  epidemics  of  various  kinds  are  the 
result  of  three  causes,  respectively :  the  marshes,  which,  as  the  Jewish 
settlers  have  proved,  can  be  drained  within  a  short  time;  ignorance 
of  hygiene  and  malnutrition  of  the  population ;  and  the  indiscriminate 
admission  of  pilgrims  affected  with  cholera,  the  plague,  etc. 

Character  of  the  Soil 

The  soil  of  Palestine  is  composed  of  disintegrated  limestone, 
except  in  Northern  Transjordania,  where  the  basalt  formation  is  cov- 
ered by  a  thick  layer  of  disintegrated  lava  of  unusual  fertility.  In 
Western  Palestine  the  soil  is  deep  on  the  coastal  plain,  in  the  Jordan 
valley,  and  in  the  transverse  valleys,  but  shallow  in  the  mountain  dis- 
tricts (25-50  cm.),  as  it  is  washed  down  the  slopes  by  the  heavy 
rains.  The  soil  of  the  mountain  districts  is  coarse-grained  and  porous, 
that  of  the  plains  either  rich  in  clay  and  not  porous,  or  else  sandy. 
The  sand  from  the  coast  is  incessantly  blown  inland  by  the  west  wind, 
and  forms  dunes  which  are  partly  responsible  for  the  marshes  along 
the  coastal  plain.  (The  dunes  block  the  winter  streams  in  their  sea- 
ward course.) 

150 


PALESTINE 

Scale  m  Miles 


DAMASCUS! 


KalateshShukif///*  Hasbtiya 


LEGEND 
idal         JEWISH  COL ONIES 

Railroads  (s) 

Roads 


-MishmarHayarden 


THE  GEOGRAPHY  OF  PALESTINE 

Transportation 

Another  cause  for  the  retarded  development  of  the  country  was 
the  lack  of  transportation  facilities,  which  made  it  useless  to  produce 
perishable  food-stuffs  anywhere  but  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
cities,  and  which  was  fatally  prejudicial  to  the  growth  of  industry. 
Up  to  the  period  of  the  war  Palestine  had  few  roads  and  fewer  rail- 
roads. The  roads  were  so  neglected  as  to  render  transportation  by 
wagon  impossible.  An  exception  to  this  rule  was  formed  by  the 
roads  connecting  the  Jewish  villages  near  Jaffa. 

Thanks  to  military  activities,  it  seems  that  the  country  has  now 
been  covered  by  a  network  of  excellent  roads,  which  lend  themselves 
to  wagon  and  motor  traffic.  Similarly,  the  railroad  system,  which  up 
to  1914  consisted  of: 

1.  The  Jaffa-Jerusalem  line,  built  by  a  French  company  in  1892; 

2.  The  parts  of  the  Hedjaz  line  (the  railway  built  for  the  Moslem 
pilgrims,  connecting  Damascus  with  Medina  and  Mecca)  falling  with- 
in Palestine,  namely :  Damascus-Dera'a-Ma'an,  Haifa-Der'a-Bosrah, 
Haifa-Acre,  Haifa-Afuleh  (Afuleh  being  an  Arabian  village  adjoining 
the  Jewish  village  Merhaviah  in  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon),  has  been 
greatly  amplified  both  by  the  Turkish  (under  German  tutelage)  and 
the  British  military  forces.  In  1916  the  Turks  had  extended  the  West- 
ern Palestinian  line  from  Afuleh  to  Jenin  and  Massudiyeh,  and  from 
the  latter  to  Lydda  and  Nablus  (Shechem).  Further  south  Wadi 
Serar  had  been  connected  up  with  Beersheba  and  Hafir.  We  know 
that  the  British  have  built  a  railroad  between  Port  Said  and  Jaffa, 
which  is  probably  to  have  ramifications  to  the  east.  It  is  to  be  assumed 
that  with  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  the  problem  of  communication  by 
road  and  rail  will  be  solved.  As  far  as  steamship  traffic  is  concerned, 
before  the  war,  the  Syrian  ports,  especially  Alexandretta  and  Beirut  (and 
in  a  smaller  measure  Jaffa)  were  visited  by  a  large  number  of  vessels, 
from  other  parts  of  Turkey,  from  Russia,  Greece,  Austria,  Italy, 
France,  Germany,  England,  Egypt,  India,  etc.  Whatever  are  the 
resources,  or,  rather,  the  latent  possibilities  of  Palestine,  it  behooves 
us  to  envisage  them  neither  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  philan- 
thropist nor  of  the  individual  settler,  but,  in  so  far  as  it  lies  in  our 
power,  as  economists  and  statesmen. 

References : 

Same  as  Ch.  XXI. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Possibilities  of  dry  farming.    The  place  of  Palestine  on  the  world  map. 

151 


CHAPTER  XXIII 
THE    JEWS    IN    PALESTINE    THROUGHOUT    HISTORY* 

The  Jews  lost  Palestine.  They  were  scattered  to  the  four  corners 
of  the  earth.  And  so  we  naturally  think  of  Palestine  as  losing  the 
Jews  too.  In  fact  Palestine  never  lost  all  of  her  Jews.  Throughout 
every  period  of  history  there  have  been  some  Jews  in  Palestine. 
However,  since  the  dispersion  Palestine,  which  has  always  occupied 
a  central  position  in  Jewish  spiritual  life,  has  been  far  less  important 
in  a  material  sense  to  the  actual  development  of  the  Jewish  people 
than  have  some  of  the  other  lands  of  their  sojourn ;  so  it  would  be  out 
of  proportion,  to  give  fully  that  history  here.  But  the  most  general 
facts  should  be  noted. 

In  Biblical  Times 

The  earliest  Hebraic  association  with  Palestine  is  that  of  the 
Patriarch  Abraham.  This  ancient  linking  of  Israel's  hope  with  Pales- 
tine finds  historic  fufillment  in  actual  possession  under  Joshua  after  the 
Exodus  from  Egypt,  probably  about  the  year  1455  B.  C.  E.  At  that 
time  and  for  some  time  thereafter  the  Jews  were  no  doubt  a  minority 
in  the  land  struggling  with  a  hostile  and  preponderant  population. 
Under  the  Judges,  they  were  at  certain  periods  actually  subject  to 
some  of  these  peoples,  and  they  suffered  also  from  numerous  raids 
from  the  Midianites,  the  roving  tribes  east  of  the  Jordan,  forefathers 
no  doubt  of  the  still  marauding  Bedouin  tribes  of  today.  That  the 
Children  of  Israel  at  all  maintained  themselves  and  finally  became  a 
majority  in  the  land  was  due  to  the  division  and  mutual  hostility  of 
their  neighbors  and  to  the  unity  of  the  Twelve  Tribes  of  Israel.  The 
defeat  of  the  Jews  whenever  they  deserted  God  for  the  idols  of  their 
neighbors,  and  their  interpretation  of  their  history  in  this  sense,  as 
evidenced  throughout  the  Bible,  is  a  fact  of  profound  political  as  well 
as  moral  significance.  The  unity  of  God  implied  the  unity  of  Israel. 
Thus  their  faith  became  their  strongest  weapon  of  defence  and  offence. 
Under  the  Kings  David  and  Solomon  that  spirit  of  unity  was  crystal- 
lized in  the  Temple  at  Jerusalem  to  which  all  Israel  was  commanded 

*  Adapted  from  an  article  by  Lotta  Levensohn. 

152 


THE  JEWS  IN  PALESTINE  THROUGHOUT  HISTORY 

to  go  up  for  sacrifice  and  worship.  At  that  time  also  the  mountain 
stronghold  of  Jerusalem  came  to  be  the  center  of  a  powerful  kingdom, 
including  at  one  time  even  Damascus  in  the  north  and  Akaba  on  the 
Red  Sea,  which  practically  unified  Palestine,  sweeping  away  the 
Philistine  from  the  coast  and  gaining  a  strong  foothold  east  of  the 
Jordan.  That  kingdom  in  its  unified  strength  lasted  for  barely  two 
generations.  Political  existence  in  Palestine  was  at  all  times  difficult, 
for  the  following  reasons:  (1)  It  was  practically  an  oasis  between 
two  deserts,  east  and  south,  open  to  continuous  marauding  attacks 
from  the  nomad  peoples  of  the  wilderness.  (2)  It  lay  on 
the  highway  between  powerful  empires  in  Egypt  and  Mesopotamia, 
so  that  it  became  their  inevitable  battle-ground  and  was  likely  to  fall 
prey  to  either.  (3)  It  was  inhabited  by  a  medley  of  tribes  thrown  over 
it  by  successive  waves  of  migration.  (4)  Its  great  variety  of  climate 
and  conformation  made  unified  control  difficult.  Most  of  these  diffi- 
culties were  due  to  its  unique  and  remarkable  position  at  the  juncture 
of  three  continents.  These  difficulties,  too,  developed  the  marvelous 
political  insight  of  the  Jewish  teachers,  exemplified  especially  in  the 
statesmanlike  utterances  of  the  Prophets.  (See  Ch.  IV.)  This  political 
insight  transcends  the  political  vision  of  all  succeeding  ages.  And 
it  was  violation  of  the  laws  laid  down  for  national  guidance  which 
caused  the  final  overthrow  of  the  Israelitish  nation  in  about  722 
B.  C.  E.  The  nation  was  divided  in  two  parts,  due  to  the  oppressive 
kingship  of  Judah,  its  southern  portion.  The  division  of  worship 
caused  thereby  undermined  the  morale  especially  of  Israel,  the  north- 
ern portion,  which  could  not  worship  at  the  sanctuary  in  Jerusalem. 
Idol  worship  reappeared  in  force.  The  armies  of  Assyria  and  Baby- 
lonia swept  over  the  weakened  and  divided  nation,  and  found  only 
divided  resistance.  The  northern  kingdom,  which  fell  first,  utterly 
disappeared.  But  the  southern  kingdom,  which  had  Jerusalem,  the 
Temple  and  the  faith  of  God  in  its  midst,  resisted  destruction  even  in 
exile  in  Babylonia.  The  Prophetic  voice  recalled  it  to  its  unique 
political  role.  Isaiah's  teaching  of  its  spiritual  role  among  the  nations 
no  doubt  saved  Judah  from  the  fate  of  the  Ten  Tribes.  Although  in 
586  B.  C.  E.  the  Temple  was  despoiled  and  Jerusalem  laid  waste,  the 
Jews  after  seventy  years  returned  to  Jerusalem  and  rebuilt  the  Temple 
at  the  behest  of  Cyrus,  the  Persian  King  who  repatriated  them. 

Under  Persia,  Greece,  and  Rome 

Chastened  by  suffering,  they  set  up  a  religious  or  moral  common- 
wealth which  flourished  for  several  centuries  under  Persian  suzerainty. 

153 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

During  this  time  the  Bible  took  its  final  form.  Jewish  communities 
began  to  grow  up  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  who  all,  however,  looked 
to  Jerusalem  and  the  Temple  as  their  center,  and  who  for  centuries 
yearly  collected  the  shekel  or  poll  tax  that  was  sent  by  Jews  from  all 
parts  of  the  world  for  the  upkeep  of  the  Temple.  True  for  that  period 
to  its  ideals  of  democratic  autonomy,  the  little  nation  in  Palestine 
needed  no  further  independence,  and  the  transfer  of  power  from  Persia 
to  the  Greece  of  Alexander  seems  not  greatly  to  have  affected  Jewish 
conditions  there.  However,  after  the  death  of  Alexander,  his  Syrian 
minions,  more  Greek  than  the  Greeks,  tried  to  force  Hellenistic  Kultur 
on  all  the  peoples  of  Syria.  It  was  then  that  they  met  first  the  passive 
and  later  the  active  resistance  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Jewish  nation, 
whose  religious  freedom  was  assailed  by  the  assault  on  customs,  cere- 
monies and  forms  of  worship  that  were  bound  up  with  the  whole  life 
of  the  Jewish  polity.  The  indestructability  of  Jewish  nationalism  lies 
in  the  fact  that  it  is  a  faith.  After  the  Maccabaean  revolt  (168 
B.  C.  E.)  had  ended  gloriously  for  the  Jews,  a  Jewish  kingdom  was 
again  set  up  in  Palestine.  (For  warnings  against  kingship,  see  Judges 
8:22,  23  and  Samuel  I,  10:  17-19  and  12:  6-15  and  19-22.)  That  king- 
dom of  the  Hasmoneans  and  the  Herods  did  not  long  keep  the  noble 
spirit  of  the  Maccabaeans,  but  degenerated  into  an  Oriental  monarchy, 
splendid  and  despotic.  However,  the  kernel  of  the  Jewish  people 
remained  true.  The  Pharisees,  as  against  the  priestly  and  military 
classes,  carried  forward  in  their  own  way  the  traditions  of  Prophet 
and  Scribe ;  that  is,  of  a  leadership  of  ability  and  election,  not  of 
heredity.  Palestine  was  overrun  and  shot  through  by  strands  of 
many  civilizations  and  peoples.  Greek  culture  lived  side  by  side  with 
the  Jewish,  and  Rome  gradually  dominated  the  land  and  sapped  Jewish 
political  independence.  Finally  came  Jewish  revolt,  the  destruction  of 
Jerusalem  and  the  Temple  and  in  70  C.  E.  the  complete  overthrow 
of  Judaea  by  the  Romans.  But  though  the  Jews  were  defeated,  they 
were  not  conquered.  The  heart  of  Jewish  life,  the  school  and  the 
court  of  religious  legislation  (Sanhedrin),  were  transferred  by  Yohanan 
ben  Zakkai,  one  of  the  Pharisaic  teachers,  from  the  ruined  temple  at 
Jerusalem  to  the  little  coast  town  of  Yavneh.  This  was  done  with 
the  permission  of  the  conqueror  Titus,  who  could  not  have  dreamed 
that  he  was  releasing  a  force  stronger  than  his  invincible  legions.  The 
school  at  Yavneh  saved  the  Jewish  people.  Around  it  gathered  scholars 
and  disciples.  The  Palestinian  schools  for  many  generations  amplified 
and  expounded  the  Oral  Law,  that  body  of  interpretation  and  rulings 
that  had  grown  up  around  the  Bible  or  Written  Law.    Judah  I,  about 

154 


THE  JEWS  IN  PALESTINE  THROUGHOUT  HISTORY 

189  C.  E.  codified  this  Oral  Law  in  the  Mishnah,  written  down  at  last, 
to  save  it  in  case  all  the  scholars  should  be  slain.  Such  was  the  danger 
to  Jewish  life  in  Palestine.  During  the  next  200  years,  this  Mishnah  was 
further  interpreted,  and  around  it  grew  up  the  Jerusalem  Talmud,  which 
ranks  far  below  the  Babylonian  Talmud.  The  lot  of  the  Jews  in  Palestine 
at  that  time  was  not  conducive  to  great  intellectual  achievement. 

The  first  six  centuries  of  the  Common  Era  in  Palestine  were 
punctuated  by  a  series  of  Jewish  rebellions  against  the  might  of 
Rome.  The  most  important  of  these,  and  one  that  seemed  for  awhile 
to  promise  Jewish  triumph,  was  led  by  Bar  Kochba  in  132  C.  E.,  who 
recaptured  Jerusalem  and  made  Judaea  independent  for  two  years. 
He  was  hailed  by  Rabbi  Akiba  as  the  Messiah.  But,  after  a  desperate 
defense  Bar  Kochba  was  defeated  and  slain  by  the  overwhelming 
might  of  Rome,  and  the  Jewish  lot  became  harder  than  ever.  Jeru- 
salem was  razed;  Jews  were  forbidden  to  approach  it;  and  on  its  site 
rose  a  Roman  city  called  Aelia  Capitolina.  At  this  time  the  Jewish 
Christians  first  turned  sharply  against  the  Jews,  refusing  to  support 
the  revolt  and  even  acting  as  informers.  It  now  happened,  too,  that 
Rome  realized  the  national  significance  of  the  study  of  the  Law  and 
made  it  a  capital  offence.  Akiba,  among  others,  died  a  martyr  to 
this  oppression  of  the  study  of  Torah.  Each  unsuccessful  rebellion 
left  the  Jews  in  a  more  pitiable  state. 

Under  the  Byzantian  Empire 

In  324,  the  Roman  Emperor  Constantine  adopted  Christianity, 
and  Palestine  fell  under  the  shadow  of  the  Cross.  Palestine  now 
became  a  land  of  Christian  pilgrimages,  of  churches,  nunneries,  hermit- 
ages. Fanaticism  was  preached,  and  the  Jews  were  its  constant  prey. 
The  Patriarchate — which  was  a  Rabbinic  succession  of  Jewish  teachers 
in  Palestine  who  were  accepted  practically  as  rulers  and  judges  by 
the  Jews — came  to  an  end  in  425,  under  the  reign  of  Theodosius  I, 
Emperor  of  the  East.  Under  Byzantian  rule,  for  over  200  years,  the 
Jews  suffered  great  oppression,  which  was  only  intensified  by  their 
occasional  unsuccessful  rebellions.  Under  Christian  rule  the  strictest 
of  Roman  anti-Jewish  edicts  were  revived  and  surpassed.  As  under 
the  Roman  Hadrian,  Jews  were  again  forbidden  to  enter  Jerusalem. 

Under  Islam 

Islam,  the  second  great  religion  to  spring  from  Judaism,  had  its 
origin  in  Arabia.  From  there  it  swept  over  the  Eastern  world,  by 
means  of  the  sword,  and  in  633  Palestine  too  came  under  its  sway.  In 
principle,  Islam  greatly  restricted  the  freedom  of  both  Jews  and  Chris- 

155 


GUIDE     TO      ZIONISM 

tians,  but  in  practice  the  rule  of  the  Caliph  Omar  was  a  boon  to  the 
Jews.  About  684,  the  Mosque  of  Omar  was  erected  in  Jerusalem 
on  the  Temple  site.  For  200  years  Palestine  had  rest  and  quiet  under 
the  Damascus  Caliphate  and  later  under  the  rule  of  Moslem  Egypt. 
The  population  of  Palestine  was  compounded  of  many  peoples,  Chris- 
tian, Moslem,  and  Jewish.  There  was  much  flux  because  of  the  central 
position  of  the  land.  In  the  eleventh  century  a  group  of  Jews  from 
Germany  came  to  find  refuge  in  Palestine  under  liberal  Moslem  rule, 
and  for  a  while  Jerusalem  became  once  more  famous  as  a  seat  of  Jewish 
learning. 

The  Latin  Kingdom — The  Crusades 

But  the  Crusades  ended  that  happy  interval.  The  first  Crusade 
deluged  Europe  with  Jewish  blood  before  ever  these  Christian 
"redeemers"  neared  the  soil  of  the  Holy  Land.  In  1099  Jerusalem  was 
taken  from  the  Moslems  by  Godfrey  de  Bouillon,  who  founded  the 
Latin  Kingdom.  He  celebrated  by  a  massacre  of  Moslems  and  by 
burning  all  the  Jews  of  Jerusalem  alive  in  a  synagogue.  After  a 
time,  however,  a  stable  government  was  set  up,  the  country  was  irri- 
gated and  became  fruitful  and  beautiful  as  in  its  happiest  days,  and 
industry  and  commerce  flourished  to  such  an  extent  that  Palestine 
became  a  commercial  center  for  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  Then,  the 
cosmopolitan  life  of  the  country  did  away  with  much  of  the  Christian 
fanaticism  against  the  Jews.  Jewish  artisans,  merchants,  and  physi- 
cians prospered.  Jewish  pilgrims  again  came  to  their  land,  among 
them,  in  the  twelfth  century,  Judah  Halevi,  the  great  Hebrew  poet 
of  Spain,  Maimonides,  most  renowned  of  Jewish  philosophers,  and  the 
noted  traveler,  Benjamin  of  Tudela. 

The  Moslems  Again 

With  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century,  the  Moslems  under  the 
Saracen  Saladin  overthrew  Christian  rule,  and  after  a  century  of  strug- 
gle Palestine  again  prospered.  It  was  a  comparatively  happy  time 
for  the  Jews.  As  early  as  1267  the  famous  Spanish  Jewish  scholar 
Nahmanides  re-established  a  Jewish  community  in  Palestine.  He  in- 
troduced the  study  of  the  Kabbalah.  Later  followed  a  migration  of 
Jews  from  the  Rhine.  Under  Egyptian  Moslem  rule  in  the  fourteenth 
century,  the  Jews  found  shelter  and  freedom  when  church-ridden 
Europe  persecuted  them.  The  country  flourished.  Jewish  pilgrims 
and  immigrants  abounded.  Commerce  and  industry  prospered.  Jeru- 
salem and  Hebron  had  wealthy  and  cultured  Jewish  communities,  and 
there  were  even  shepherd  communities  in  southern  Palestine. 

156 


THE  JEWS  IN  PALESTINE  THROUGHOUT  HISTORY 

However,  the  religious  and  spiritual  leadership  of  Jewry  remained 
in  the  Diaspora.    It  passed  from  Babylon  to  Spain,  and  later  to  Poland. 

The  expulsion  of  the  Jews  from  Spain,  in  1492,  resulted  in  a  large 
Jewish  migration  to  Palestine,  where  Sultan  Bejazet  welcomed  the 
immigrants.  Many  settled  in  Jerusalem  and  Safed,  the  latter  becoming 
a  famous  center  of  Kabbalistic  study. 

Under  the  Turk 

In  1516  Palestine  passed  to  the  sovereignty  of  Constantinople 
and  the  Turk.  This  rather  improved  the  political  status  of  the  Jews. 
Joseph  Nassi,  a  wealthy  and  cultured  Spanish  exile,  was  confidential 
adviser  to  the  Sultan  Suleiman,  who  made  him  Duke  of  Naxos.  For 
a  time  a  revival  of  Jewish  colonization  seemed  possible.  However, 
later,  Turkish  rule  degenerated;  it  became  incompetent  and  corrupt; 
and  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries  the  Jews  sank  into 
a  slough  of  poverty  and  dependency.  The  whole  land  degenerated  eco- 
nomically. Those  Jews  who  were  artisans  could  find  little  work,  and 
the  majority,  meagrely  supported  by  charity  from  abroad,  devoted 
their  time  to  study. 

Revival  of  European  Interest  in  Palestine 

The  invasion  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  in  1798,  was  an  episode  that 
had  no  lasting  effect  upon  the  country.  So,  too,  the  political  bicker- 
ings of  Turkey  and  Egypt  during  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth 
century.  The  nineteenth  century  saw  a  revival  of  interest  in  Palestine 
on  the  part  of  Christians  as  well  as  Jews.  Missionaries  came  from 
the  West;  pilgrims  from  Russia  flocked  every  Eastertide  to  the  Holy 
Land.  The  Greek  and  Latin  churches  established  headquarters  in 
Jerusalem.  The  quarrels  among  Christian  sects  became  so  scandalous 
that  the  Sultan  was  forced  to  install  a  Turkish  guard  to  keep  the  peace 
in  the  church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 

National  political  rivalries  were  the  inspiration  of  a  number  of 
apparently  religious  foundations.  France  for  a  time  regarded  herself 
as  the  protector  of  all  Roman  Catholics  in  Palestine  of  whatever 
nationality. 

The  year  1840  saw  a  horrible  revival  of  the  blood-accusation  in 
Damascus.  The  tortures  endured  by  the  Jews  there  aroused  Christian 
as  well  as  Jewish  indignation  in  Europe,  caused  international  political 
action,  and  brought  to  Palestine  Adolphe  Cremieux  and  Sir  Moses 
Montefiore. 

157 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Jewish  Organizations  in  Palestine 

The  West  European  Jews  became  actively  interested  in  the  help- 
less situation  of  the  Palestinian  Jews,  and  in  the  course  of  the  nine- 
teenth century  established  schools,  workrooms,  hospitals  and  other 
institutions.  The  most  prominent  of  the  organizations  which  worked 
in  behalf  of  the  old  Yishub  are  the  Hilfsverein  der  Deutschen  Juden, 
the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle,  and  the  Anglo-Jewish  Association. 
Their  palliative  efforts  have  not,  naturally,  been  able  to  change  the 
economic  status  of  the  Jews  of  the  old  Yishub  (settlement). 

The  Halukkah 

For  many  centuries,  it  has  been  the  custom  all  over  the  Jewish 
world  to  send  money  for  the  support  of  students  of  the  Law  in  Pales- 
tine. This  pious  motive,  coupled  with  the  lack  of  economic  opportuni- 
ties, has  operated  to  build  up  an  elaborate  system  of  distribution  of 
funds — the  Halukkah — and  of  collection  in  the  Diaspora  by  paid  agents 
sent  out  from  Palestine  {M  eshullahim) .  Many  abuses  have  crept 
into  the  Halukkah.  Questionable  methods  are  used  both  in  its  collec- 
tion and  its  distribution.  Though  the  recipients  and  their  families  live 
in  the  extremest  poverty,  they  have  been  pauperized  by  the  unearned 
dole.  With  the  revival  of  the  country,  the  Halukkah  problem  as  it 
affects  the  young  people  will  drop  away  as  soon  as  they  attain  to  the 
dignity  of  self-support,  which  they  have  shown  themselves  eager  to 
do  whenever  opportunity  has  afforded.  The  Halukkah  for  really 
meritorious  students  and  their  families  is  one  of  the  problems  of  the 
Old  Yishub  that  the  New  Yishub  will  have  to  solve. 

Jewish  Culture 

It  was  obviously  impossible  for  the  Jews  in  Palestine,  during  the 
ages  of  disinheritance,  even  to  approach  the  spiritual  attainments  of 
the  Kingdom  or  of  the  Second  Commonwealth.  But  despite  their 
status  (or  lack  of  it)  they  did  keep  the  lamp  of  Jewish  learning  alight 
in  the  Land,  however  dimly,  to  this  day.  And  they  did  help  to  preserve 
the  Hebrew  language,  one  of  the  chiefest  treasures  of  the  Jewish 
people,  until  a  virile  nationalism  arose  to  nourish  and  to  foster  it. 

References : 

Palestine,  by  A.  Hyamson,  (First  Edition),  Ch.  1  to  6,  pp.  1-58.  A  History  of 
the  Jews,  by  Paul  Goodman.  Palestine  of  the  Jews,  by  Norman  Bentwich,  Ch.  1, 
pp.  1-20. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  Jewish  mystics  of  Safed.     The  relation  of  early  Christianity  to  Judaism; 

158 


CHAPTER  XXIV 
EARLY    MODERN    JEWISH    IMMIGRATION    AND    COLONIZATION 

The  Population 

In  Palestine,  just  before  the  Great  War,  the  estimated  population 
was  700,000,  of  whom  the  great  majority  were  Arabic-speaking  Mos- 
lems. Of  this  population  the  Jews  numbered  about  one-seventh,  that 
is,  between  100,000  and  125,000  souls.  During  the  past  century,  there 
has  been  no  marked  increase  in  the  general  population,  but  the  Jews 
increased  to  their  present  number  from  about  3000,  in  1800.  This 
increase  was  in  large  measure  due  to  the  impetus  given  by  ^nationaliza- 
tion and  agricultural  resettlement  in  Palestine,  which  culminated  in  the 
Zionist  movement.  The  present  Jewish  population  of  Palestine  may 
roughly  be  divided  in  half,  the  one-half  representing  what  is  known  as  the 
Old  Settlement  or  Old  Yishub,  and  the  other  the  New  Settlement  or  New 
Yishub.  The  lines  are  not  hard  and  fast,  and  fortunately  they  are  be- 
coming more  blurred  all  the  time.  The  Old  Settlement  consists  of  those 
Jews,  settled  chiefly  in  the  "holy"  cities  of  Jerusalem,  Hebron,  Safed, 
and  Tiberias,  who  went  to  Palestine  for  religious  reasons,  often  in 
old  age  to  die  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  who  to  a  large  extent  are  sup- 
ported from  abroad  or,  even  if  independent,  usually  live  in  the  most 
abject  poverty.  This  includes  all  the  Halukkah  Jews.  (See  Ch. 
XXIII.)  The  immigration  of  the  past  century  has  been  chiefly 
Ashkenazic — that  is,  of  Yiddish-speaking  Jews  from  Eastern  or  Central 
Europe  using  the  Polish  ritual.  The  bulk  of  the  earlier  population 
was  Sephardic — that  is,  consisting  of  Oriental  Jews  using  the  Portu- 
guese ritual,  in  large  part  descendants  from  the  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  exiles,  who  still  speak  the  Judeo-Spanish  jargon  called 
Ladino.  At  present  the  Ashkenazic  Jews  form  about  85  per  cent,  of 
the  Jewish  population.  In  the  Old  Yishub  there  is  a  great  variety  of 
types  and  great  disunity.  Each  little  national  group  has  its  own 
synagogue  and  minhag,  its  own  language  and  customs,  its  own 
jealousies  and  grievances.  Some  of  the  lands  that  are  represented  by 
their  Jews  in  Palestine  are  Russia,  Poland,  and  all  the  Baltic  states, 
Bulgaria,  Galicia,  Bukovina,  Transylvania,  Hungary,  Rumania, 
Germany,  Holland,  the  United  States,  Morocco,  Algiers,  Tunis  and 

159 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Tripoli  in  North  Africa,  Arabia,  Persia,  Bokhara,  Mesopotamia,  Syria, 
and  Transcaucasian  Doghestan,  and  Georgia  (The  Gurdji  or  Grusi- 
nians).  In  the  Old  Yishub,  the  distinctions  remain  perpetuated  in  part 
by  the  Halukkah,  which  binds  European  groups  financially  to  their 
respective  countries.  In  the  New  Yishub,  or  the  nationalist  Jewish 
villages  and  city  garden  suburbs,  the  distinctions  begin  to  be  blotted 
out  as  early  as  in  the  Hebrew-speaking  kindergarten.  The  Jewish 
national  idea  supersedes  all  adopted  nationalities,  and  gives  its  own 
distinctive  stamp.  The  New  Yishub — new  and  young  in  its  spirit — 
by  no  means  consists  of  newcomers  only ;  it  has  in  some  cases  drawn 
upon  the  oldest  Sephardic  population  as  well,  upon  the  "Turkish"  Jews. 
Of  the  newcomers,  comparatively  few  adopted  Turkish  citizenship, 
on  account  of  the  system  of  national  capitulations  which  gave  them 
the  greater  protection  of  the  courts  and  consuls  of  their  native  coun- 
tries. The  Russian  Jews,  whose  own  Government  did  not  protect 
them,  were  looked  after  by  the  representatives  of  the  British 
government. 

Among  the  most  interesting  of  modern  Jewish  immigrants  are  the 
Arabian  Jews  from  Yemen,  where  they  claim  to  have  lived  since  the 
first  Exile,  long  before  the  present  Arabic  population.  In  about  1880 
they  began  to  suffer  acute  persecution,  and  instinctively  fled  to  Palestine, 
their  ancestral  home.  In  later  years  their  immigration  was  encouraged 
by  the  Zionists  and  directed  to  the  Jewish  villages,  where  they  have 
settled  in  workmen's  colonies.  They  are  a  thrifty,  sturdy  folk,  inured 
to  hardship,  learned  and  pious,  and  speaking  a  pure  Sephardic  Hebrew. 
In  appearance,  dress,  and  standard  of  living  they  resemble  the  Arabs. 

History  of  Colonization — Philanthropic  Period 

At  no  time  have  the  Jews  wholly  deserted  the  land  in  Palestine. 
Near  Safed  in  the  Arabic  village  of  Pekiin  are  about  twenty  families  of 
Arabized,  Arabic-speaking  Jews  who  are  farmers  and  who  claim  to 
have  lived  there  ever  since  the  Second  Exile.  In  everything  but  religion 
they  seem  like  Arabs.  The  idea  of  Jewish  repatriation  through  agri- 
culture in  Palestine  found  numerous  abortive  expressions  during  the 
nineteenth  century.  Several  non-Jews  were  active  in  these  attempts, 
among  them  Lawrence  Oliphant,  who  had  the  support  of  British  diplo- 
matic circles.  In  1839  Sir  Moses  Montefiore  had  an  ambitious  and 
statesmanlike  scheme  for  resettling  the  Jews  as  agriculturists  in  Pales- 
tine. It  failed  for  political  reasons.  The  founding  of  the  Mikveh 
Israel  Agricultural   School  in   1870    (see  Ch.   XXXI)    was  the   direct 

160 


MODERN  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  AND  COLONIZATION 

outgrowth  of  the  nationalist  urgings  of  Hirsch  Kalischer.  In  1873 
a  few  Jews  from  Jerusalem  founded  the  settlement  of  Moza  just 
west  of  the  city.  This  venture  never  succeeded,  but  never  wholly 
failed,  and  even  today  the  farm  at  Moza  has  at  least  the  distinction 
of  containing  the  cypress  planted  by  Theodor  Herzl  and  known  as 
the  Herzl  tree,  and  of  being  a  favorite  excursion  ground  for  the  Jewish 
school  children  of  Jerusalem  who  picnic  there  on  every  Hamisha  Asar 
Bishevat.  In  1878  a  handful  of  Jews  from  Jerusalem,  nationalist  ideal- 
ists, bought  land  and  attempted  to  settle  as  agriculturists  in  Petah 
Tikvah,  near  Jaffa.  They  were  city  dwellers  unused  to  the  soil;  the 
place  was  swampy,  and  malaria  either  killed  or  drove  out  all  of  this 
small  group  of  valiant  pioneers. 

After  1880,  European  anti-Semitism  and  the  Russian  pogroms 
were  a  driving  force,  both  physical  and  spiritual,  toward  Jewish 
renationalization  in  Palestine.  The  Hibbat  Zion  movement  (see  Ch. 
VIII)  made  strides  in  all  countries,  including  America,  and  groups 
of  Jews  in  Russia  and  Rumania  organized  themselves  for  Palestinian 
colonization.  These  first  settlers  were  chiefly  city  dwellers.  Of  con- 
ditions in  Palestine,  its  climate,  its  soil,  the  intricate  Turkish  land  laws, 
or  the  ways  and  language  of  the  Arab  population  they  knew  as  little  as 
of  plowing,  planting  and  harvesting.  Very  few  had  any  capital  to 
start  with.  About  ninety  of  them  were  young  students,  members  of 
the  Bilu  groups.  (See  Ch.  VIII.)  These  young  men  faced  unspeak- 
able hardships  and  stuck  to  their  settlements  in  the  face  of  death 
itself.  Some  of  them  hired  themselves  out  as  day  laborers  to  the 
Mikveh  Israel  School  and  even  to  the  Arabs  themselves  at  a  mere 
pittance.  Many  died  of  malaria.  Despite  their  grim  determination, 
an  appeal  for  help  had  to  be  sent  to  Russia.  This  found  its  way  to 
Baron  Edmond  de  Rothschild  in  Paris,  who  received  a  delegation  of 
the  settlers,  and  became  to  them  and  to  Palestinian  colonization  hence- 
forth an  ever  present  help.  He  came  to  the  rescue  of  the  village  of 
Rishon  le-Zion  (1882)  with  money  and  with  agricultural  instructors. 
So,  too,  he  saved  Petah  Tikvah,  which  had  been  resettled  in  1883  and 
was  again  threatened  with  ruin,  but  which  has  since  become  the  most 
populous  of  the  Jewish  villages.  His  devotion  to  the  cause  rivalled 
that  of  the  organized  Hoveve  Zion  and  of  the  settlers  themselves. 
And  their  devotion  to  him  has  been  a  not  unworthy  repayment.  He 
not  only  aided  these  early  Russian  and  Roumanian  settlers  in  the  best 
way  known  to  him,  but  he  also  himself  undertook  colonization.  He 
at  various  times  supported  in  part  or  in  whole  besides  his  own 
settlements    at   Ekron    (1884)    and   Metullah    (1896),   Rishon    le-Zion, 

161 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Petah  Tikvah,  Hederah  (1891),  Zichron  Ya-acob  (1882),  and  Yessod 
ha  Ma-alah  (1883).  To  drain  the  swamps,  he  planted  the  eucalyptus 
trees  imported  from  Australia.  He  purchased  land.  He  engaged 
administrators  for  the  villages.  And  when  he  himself  saw  that  this 
system  of  philanthropic  management  was  having  unwholesome  con- 
sequences, he  took  steps  to  change  it.  For  it  turned  out  that  these 
administrators,  acting  also  as  instructors,  only  added  to  the  troubles 
of  the  settlers.  The  administrators  seem  to  have  distinguished  them- 
selves chiefly  by  mistaken  judgments.  By  autocratic  methods  they 
fostered  at  the  same  time  a  spirit  of  dependence  and  of  insurrection.  As 
instructors,  their  failure  was  even  more  marked.  They  turned  out  to 
be  almost  as  ignorant  as  the  settlers  of  the  peculiar  needs  of  the  land, 
and  were  forced  to  learn  by  experience.  In  Rishon  le-Zion  the  Baron 
installed  the  remarkable  wine-cellars  which  have  since  proved  the 
economic  bulwark  of  this  and  the  neighboring  villages.  But  an  over- 
production of  wine  in  the  Judaean  villages  forced  an  economic  crisis, 
since  no  real  market  existed  and  the  Baron  could  not  indefinitely 
maintain  an  artificial  one.  One  of  the  gravest  errors  of  the  early 
colonization  was  the  dependence  on  a  single  crop,  which  has  since 
been  practically  everywhere  remedied. 

In  the  meantime,  the  Hoveve  Zion,  organized  into  the  Montefiore 
Federation  of  Hibbat  Zion  groups  at  Kattowitz  in  1884,  and  incorpor- 
ated in  Odessa  in  1890  (See  Ch.  VIII),  since  when  it  is  known  as  the 
Odessa  Committee,  gave  all  its  resources  to  the  encouragement  and 
assistance  of  Jewish  colonization  in  Palestine,  assisting  all  of  the 
Jewish  villages  and  establishing  new  ones.  It  co-operated  with  "the 
Baron".  Private  initiative  and  independent  colonization  ventures  were 
added  to  the  Palestinian  medley.  The  most  hopeful  of  all  the  enter- 
prises was  the  founding  in  1890  of  the  village  of  Rehovot,  near  Jaffa. 
From  its  inception,  it  was  independent,  and  it  has  been  self-reliant  and 
successful  ever  since.  It  was  founded  by  a  group  of  55  persons  with 
adequate  capital,  members  of  a  Warsaw  colonization  society,  Menuha 
ve-Nahalah.  For  a  time,  the  land  was  managed  jointly,  and  the  actual 
owners  did  not  go  to  live  there  until  the  land  had  been  prepared  by 
Jewish  workmen  and  was  bearing  fruit.  A  great  many  Jewish  work- 
men were  employed,  and  were  thus  prepared  as  settlers  for  other 
villages.  Rehovot  produces  wine,  oranges,  almonds  and  olives.  The 
village  is  prosperous  and  nationalistic  and  progressive  in  spirit.  In 
it,  takes  place  each  year  at  Hoi  Moed  Pesah,  the  Hagigah,  the  joyous 
Jewish  national  festival  with  its  outdoor  games,  contests  and  choruses. 

162 


MODERN  JEWISH  IMMIGRATION  AND  COLONIZATION 

The  Critical  Period — Ahad  Ha-am 

With  perhaps  this  one  exception,  the  prospects  of  Jewish  coloniza- 
tion in  Palestine  looked  very  dark  in  1890.  Jewish  villages  were 
scattered  throughout  the  country;  a  group  in  Judaea  between  Jaffa  and 
Jerusalem  and  southward  from  Jaffa ;  another  group  between  Jaffa 
and  Haifa  in  Samaria ;  and  another  group  north  of  Carmel  in  Galilee, 
with  lone  outposts  at  Metullah  in  the  north  and  at  Bene  Yehudah  east 
of  the  Sea  of  Tiberias.  On  the  whole,  the  northern  villages  raised 
grain  and  the  southern  ones  grapes,  oranges,  and  other  fruit.  Each 
section  developed  a  quite  distinctive  local  character.  Besides  a  hap- 
hazard and  philanthropic  method  of  colonization  which  gave  the 
Jewish  settlement  no  unity  or  dignity,  they  had  to  contend  with 
(1)  their  own  ignorance  of  farming  and  of  the  land,  (2)  lack  of  suffi- 
cient capital,  (3)  unorganized  immigration,  (4)  swamps  which  bred 
malaria,  (5)  lack  of  water  and  of  a  system  of  irrigation,  (6)  long 
neglect  of  the  land,  (7)  the  hostility,  especially  in  the  north,  of  the 
Arab  population,  or,  more  frequently,  of  the  Bedouin  or  nomad  Arabs, 
(8)  the  complete  lack  of  wagon  roads  and  of  other  means  of  com- 
munication (the  railroad  between  Jaffa  and  Jerusalem  was  not  finished 
until  1892),  (9)  lack  of  police  protection,  (10)  excessive  taxation — 
the  minimum  being  12*^  per  cent. — which  did  not  spare  even  fruit 
trees  and  which  had  to  be  supplemented  by  graft  (Baksheesh).  Add 
to  this,  discontent  among  the  settlers  in  the  Rothschild  villages, 
renewed  Turkish  prohibition  against  Russian  Jewish  immigration 
and  the  enforcement  of  an  old  prohibition  against  selling  land  to  Jews. 
The  Turkish  laws,  however  stringent,  were  always  softened  by  the 
incompetence  and  more  especially  the  corruptibility  of  Turkish  offi- 
cialdom. However,  at  this  time,  1890,  the  "red  ticket"  was  instituted, 
every  Jew  entering  the  country  receiving  a  red  ticket  which  allowed 
him  only  one  month's  stay.  The  rush  of  refugees  from  European  persecu- 
tion and  the  multiplicity  of  land-buying  agencies  had  given  rise  to 
unseemly  speculation  and  competition.  If  land  and  government 
offered  difficulties,  an  added  hindrance  was  the  lack  of  system  and 
unitary  organization  in  the  Jewish  efforts. 

Ahad  Ha-am  went  to  Palestine  in  1891,  in  the  darkest  period,  and 
again  in  1893  and  1899,  as  representing  the  Odessa  Committee.  His 
sweeping  criticisms  and  his  radical  advice  along  lines  that  made  for 
political  action  and  control — (1)  to  centralize  land  purchasing  and 
colonization,  (2)  to  act  only  with  the  full  knowledge  and  approval  of 
the  Turkish  Government,  (3)  to  study  land  laws,  to  introduce  diversified 
crops,  and  to  give  no  pecuniary  aid  to  individuals — all  these  recommenda- 

163 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

tions  had  a  decided  influence.  Other  forces  were  also  at  work  to 
revolutionize  Jewish  colonization.  Baron  de  Rothschild  saw  and 
judged  the  conditions.  In  1900  he  decided  to  transfer  all  his  interests 
in  the  Palestinian  Jewish  villages,  together  with  an  additional  fund,  to 
the  Jewish  Colonization  Association  (I.  C.  A.),  the  Baron  Maurice  de 
Hirsch  Foundation.  This  change  of  business  method — the  transference  to 
an  experienced  and  impersonal  society — was  an  act  of  vision  and  self- 
denial  on  the  part  of  Baron  de  Rothschild.  The  new  business  relation 
in  no  way  abated  his  interest  in  the  villages,  which  has  continued 
active  until  this  day.  The  most  important  influence  on  Palestine  at 
that  period  was  the  newly  created  Zionist  Organization,  whose  para- 
mount leadership  had,  by  1902,  been  unreservedly  accepted  by  the 
Odessa  Committee. 

References: 

Beoent  Jewish  Progress  in  Palestine,  by  Henrietta  Szold.     The  Yemenite  Jews, 
by  J.  Feldman. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Activities  of  the  Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund   (the  Jewish  Colonization  Association) 
throughout  the  world.     Types  of  Jewish  population  in  Palestine. 


lte 


CHAPTER  XXV 
THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    JEWISH    VILLAGES 

Thenceforth  Palestinian  colonization  was  put  on  a  business  basis. 
Gradually  the  Jewish  villages  became  self-supporting  and  acquired 
the  dignity  that  goes  with  self-reliance.  Baron  de  Rothschild  was 
being  repaid  for  his  "loans",  which  had  at  first  been  received  as  gifts. 
In  1911  he  was  repaid  $90,000.  In  1912  the  village  of  Petah  Tikvah, 
the  largest  of  the  Jewish  villages,  with  about  3,000  inhabitants,  was 
paying  $13,002  to  the  state  in  taxes,  and  taxed  itself  $16,793  for 
communal  purposes. 

Zionist  Methods  of  Colonization 

The  Zionist  institutions  at  this  time  helped  to  put  Jewish  coloniza- 
tion on  a  sound  basis.  The  Jewish  Colonial  Bank  (see  Ch.  XI)  made  pos- 
sible a  modern  system  of  credit.  The  Jewish  National  Fund  (see  Ch.  XI) 
in  some  measure  controlled  land  problems,  and  together  with  other 
and  related  land  development  companies,  prepared  the  land  for  Jewish 
settlement.  The  Palestine  Land  Development  Company  (founded 
1908)  had  acquired  large  areas  of  land,  and  subdivided  it  into  small  hold- 
ings, laid  out  plantations,  built  homes  and  roads,  and  helped  new  set- 
tlers to  acquire  estates  or  independent  farms.  It  has  acted  in  close 
relation  with  the  Jewish  National  Fund.  Its  director,  except  during 
the  war,  has  been  Dr.  Arthur  Ruppin,  director  of  the  Palestine  Bureau 
of  the  Zionist  Organization  (founded  1908)  in  Jaffa.  This  Palestine 
Bureau  has  as  its  chief  business  the  advice  and  direction  of  Jewish 
immigrants,  especially  in  matters  relating  to  land.  One  of  its  purposes 
is  to  gather  and  to  give  information.  Smaller  land  development 
companies  are  the  Geulah  and  the  Agudat  Netaim,  which  also  purchase 
land  to  develop  and  resell  it. 

In  America  was  developed  the  Ahoozah  idea,  which  has  since  been 
adopted  by  Zionists  in  Russia  and  Germany.  Companies  were  formed, 
each  in  a  single  locality,  to  purchase  land  in  Palestine  for  their 
own  members  and  to  develop  the  land  for  a  period  of  years  during 
which  time  the  owners  gradually  paid  for  the  property.  At  the  end 
of  this  period,  the  owner  either  settled  on  his  land  or  received  an 
income   from   it.     The   first   American   Ahoozah   village   is   Poriah   in 

165 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Galilee,  near  the  Sea  of  Tiberias.  (See  Ch.  XII.)  The  Zion  Common- 
wealth (see  Ch.  XII  and  XX)  is  a  development  of  the  Ahoozah  idea, 
which  aims  to  combine  economic  and  social  control  with  land  purchase 
and  preparation.     Its  colonizing  activities  have  not  yet  begun. 

Co-operative  Colonization 

Zionism  has  changed  the  whole  aspect  of  Jewish  colonization.  It 
has  replaced  philanthropy  with  national  self-help.  It  is  the  democratic 
as  against  the  philanthropic  solution  of  the  Jewish  problem,  and  it  is 
reflected  in  the  whole  trend  and  development  of  Jewish  agricultural 
life  in  Palestine.  In  1911  the  Zionist  Organization,  which  on  principle 
had  stood  aloof  from  individualistic  colonization  schemes  in  Palestine, 
stepped  into  that  field  with  a  democratic  and  co-operative  plan.  Dr. 
Franz  Oppenheimer,  the  German  economist,  is  responsible  for  the 
ideas  underlying  the  Erez  Israel  Colonization  Association,  an  under- 
taking assumed  by  the  National  Fund,  which  is  financing  it  through  a 
special  fund.  Its  purpose  is  to  assist  the  organization  of  workmen's 
co-operative  agricultural  enterprises.  There  are  now  a  number  of  such 
farm  villages  in  operation,  at  Merhaviah,  Deganiah,  Kinneret,  and 
Sejerah  (the  I.  C.  A.  settlement),  in  Galilee,  at  Huldah,  Ben  Shamen, 
Kastinieh,  and  Gan  Shmuel  (near  Hederah  in  the  south),  all  of  them  on 
National  Fund  Property.  Sejerah  was  recently  acquired  by  the  J.  N.  F. 
The  method  of  applying  the  co-operative  principle  differs,  but  in  all  the 
aim  is  self-help  through  organization  and  sound  economics.  The 
pioneer  settlements  in  Galilee  have  had  to  face  many  dangers,  among 
them  marauding  raids  from  the  trans-Jordanian  Bedouin. 

The  Labor  Problem 

But  co-operative  workingmen's  colonies  cannot  solve  the  agricul- 
tural labor  problem  in  Palestine,  which  is  peculiarly  acute  and  yet  full 
of  promise.  The  low  standard  of  life  of  the  Arab  laborer  creates  the 
chief  difficulty.  It  takes  a  high  degree  of  idealism  to  induce  the  Jewish 
farmer  to  employ  higher  priced  Jewish  labor  when  the  Arabs  will  come 
for  a  mere  pittance  and  can  be  called  from  the  neighboring  village  for 
seasonal  work,  whereas  the  Jewish  laborer  is  dependent  on  steady 
employment.  Of  course  the  Arab  should  also  be  employed  on  occa- 
sion; but  nothing  could  be  more  dangerous  to  Jewish  Palestine  than 
to  create  an  Arab  proletariat.  The  villages  of  Rishon  le-Zion,  Petah 
Tikvah,  Katrah,  Zichron  Ya-acob  and  Rehovot  employ  upwards  of 
5,000  Arab  laborers.    Some  of  these  actually  live  in  the  Jewish  villages, 

166 


\? 


BARON   EDMOND   de   ROTHSCHILD 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JEWISH  VILLAGES 

which  largely  depend  upon  the  Arab  markets  for  milk,  eggs,  vegetables 
and  garden  produce. 

One  of  the  solutions  attempted  for  this  problem  has  been  the 
creation  of  villages  of  Jewish  workmen  with  their  houses  on  plots  large 
enough  for  considerable  truck-gardening.  The  houses  are  gradually 
bought  by  the  workmen.  These  villages  are  near  such  labor-employ- 
ing centers  as  Petah  Tikvah  and  Rishon  le-Zion,  which  also  offer  the 
advantage  of  schools  and  other  communal  institutions.  And  the  home 
garden,  tended  by  the  wife,  ekes  out  the  income.  The  Yemenite  Jews 
make  very  good  agricultural  laborers,  but  the  fact  that  they  can  live 
on  very  little,  and  so  compete  with  the  Arabs,  does  not  solve  the 
problem.  Its  solution  would  probably  be  education  of  the  Arab  and  a 
minimum  wage.  (See  Ch.  XXVI.)  Our  hope  lies  in  the  high  intel- 
lectual status  of  the  Jewish  agricultural  laborer  and  in  the  democratic 
and  co-operative  tendencies  of  Jewish  life.  Ha-Poel  Hazair,  a  work- 
men's organization,  is  strong  in  Palestine,  and  has  its  own  Hebrew 
periodical.     So  too  has  the  Poale-Zion. 

The  Housing  Problem 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  the  housing  problem  has  been  an  acute 
one  in  Palestine,  especially  when  the  Yemenites  began  to  immigrate. 
Two  thousand  of  them  arrived  in  Palestine  within  two  years  (1911- 
1912)  and  were  drawn  to  the  Jewish  villages  as  laborers.  The 
National  Fund,  the  Odessa  Committee,  and  the  Ezra  of  Berlin 
attempted  to  meet  the  situation.  Barracks  were  put  up  for  unmarried 
workers  and  small  houses  for  families,  which  were  built  on  the  loan 
system.  These  are  being  gradually  paid  off  by  the  workmen,  who  thus 
own  their  houses. 

Agricultural  Training 

The  problem  of  agricultural  training  is  also  gradually  being 
solved.  The  Jew  has  perforce  been  a  city-dweller.  His  return  to  the 
land  requires  more  than  enthusiasm  and  devotion.  Besides  the  Jewish 
Agricultural  Experiment  Station  and  the  few  agricultural  schools 
(see  Ch.  XXXI),  the  I.  C.  A.  has  been  a  potent  factor,  with  its  farms, 
its  scientifically  educated  supervisors,  its  training  methods  for  work- 
men and  its  clear-sighted  enlistment  of  the  native  Arabs,  whose 
traditional  and  primitive  usages  nevertheless  are  based  on  thousands 
of  years  of  experience  and  have  their  value.  The  Union  of  the 
Judaean  Colonies,  organized  in  1909  chiefly  for  business  and  agricul- 
tural  purposes,   has   a   system   of   co-operation   among   the    farmers,    a 

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GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

professional  journal  and  an  expert  agronomist  at  its  head.  So,  too,  the 
Jewish  National  Fund  has  a  system  of  training  for  the  workmen  on  its 
farms. 

Jewish  Agriculture 

The  Jews  in  Palestine  use  American  farming  machines  and  the 
most  advanced  methods,  which  include,  of  course,  irrigation  systems. 
The  results  justify  the  expectations.  The  yield  of  the  Jewish  farms 
and  plantations  has  doubled  and  even  tripled  that  of  the  Arabs  with 
their  primitive  methods.  Jews  own  nearly  2  per  cent,  of  the  area  of 
Palestine,  but  8  to  14  per  cent,  of  its  cultivated  surface.  Jewish  culti- 
vated land  consists  of  from  175  to  200  square  miles. 

The  Jewish  Village 

A  brief  description  of  the  appearance  of  the  Jewish  village  is 
necessary  to  complete  the  picture.  "Its  beginning  is  a  single  straight 
street,  with  houses  on  both  sides,  each  house  with  a  garden  plot  before 
it,  and  a  row  of  shade  trees.  The  houses  are  set  rather  close  together 
for  protection  and  to  facilitate  social  intercourse.  When  the  village 
grows,  the  street  throws  out  branches  to  right  and  to  left  and  it 
assumes  the  air  of  a  small  town.  The  houses  are  all  built  of  stone, 
usually  but  one  story  high  and  covered  with  white  plaster.  Wood 
for  building  purposes  is  of  course  scarce  in  Palestine.  The  clustered 
red  roofs  gleam  from  afar  in  the  pure  Palestinian  air,  peering  out 
from  the  surrounding  orange  groves,  vineyards  and  fields.  Acacia- 
lined  walks  lead  from  the  fields  up  to  the  houses.  The  dominant  points 
usually  are  the  synagogue  and  the  water  works,  and  some  of  the 
villages  are  completely  shrouded  in  their  eucalyptus  groves." 

In  great  contrast  to  the  Jewish  villages,  even  at  their  worst — 
for  in  a  few  instances  the  Jewish  villages  do  not  come  up  to  the  usual 
high  standard — there  is  the  Arab  village,  which  consists  of  mud  hovels. 
The  windowless  Arab  houses,  like  cliff  swallows'  nests,  are  built 
against  the  earthen  quarry  from  which  they  are  hewn,  gray  on  gray. 
Safety  demanded  this  protective  coloring  which  deceived  the  approach- 
ing enemy.  In  contrast  to  this  the  Jewish  village  is  frank  and  whole- 
some, planned  for  the  uses  of  life,  not  merely  to  ward  off  death. 
In  Rishon  le-Zion  and  Petah  Tikvah  some  of  the  houses  are  villa-like 
in  appearance.  The  larger  villages  have  their  sights,  such  as  the 
beautifully  planted  public  park  at  Zichron  Ya-acob  and  the  Palm 
Garden  in  Rishon  le-Zion.     Then  there  are  school  houses,  the  Bet 

168 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JEWISH  VILLAGES 

Ha-am  or  people's  house,  and  hospitals.  Occasionally  there  is  also 
the  Arab  market,  orientally  picturesque,  and  with  it,  what  one  must 
call  a  slum  district.  Among  the  institutions  that  go  with  practically 
every  village  are  a  sick-visiting  society,  a  shelter  for  the  stranger, 
and  a  mutual  loan  society. 

The  villages  are  autonomous.  Turkey,  in  spite  of  its  many  sins 
of  omission,  had  also  virtues  of  omission,  among  them  the  complete 
autonomy  allowed  to  foreign  settlements.  All  that  the  government 
demanded  was  that  the  taxes  be  promptly  paid.  In  the  case  of  Jewish 
villages  one  individual  was  designated  to  act  as  intermediary  between 
the  government  and  the  Jews — the  mukhtar — who  held  himself  respon- 
sible, among  other  things,  for  the  payment  of  taxes.  This  was  an 
arrangement  of  value  both  to  the  village  and  to  the  Turkish  Govern- 
ment. The  former  was  saved  the  extortions  of  the  tax  collector,  and 
the  latter  the  uncertainty  and  inconvenience  of  personal  collection. 
Each  village  has  its  Va-ad  or  town  committee  elected  by  what  is 
almost  equivalent  to  a  town  meeting.  At  first,  only  the  property- 
owning  men  and  women  had  the  vote.  In  recent  years,  the  work- 
men lacking  the  property  qualification  have  also  secured  the  vote 
on  condition  of  two  years'  residence,  but  they  are  not  eligible  as 
members  of  the  Va-ad.  The  Va-ad  is  at  once  the  legislative  and 
executive  body.  Its  functions  include  the  estimating  and  registration 
of  property,  budget-making,  and  the  collection  of  taxes.  In  the  larger 
villages  the  Va-ad  has  sub-committees  for  various  communal  purposes. 
Differences  between  individuals  are  settled  by  Jewish  courts  of  arbi- 
tration, and  it  has  frequently  happened  that  Arabs  too  have  laid  their 
difficulties  before  the  Va-ad  for  adjustment.  These  Jewish  village 
courts  have  dealt  only  with  civil  cases.  In  the  whole  history  of  the 
new  Jewish  Palestine  there  has  been  but  one  single  case  of  Jewish 
criminality. 

As  Turkey  failed  to  provide  for  the  most  elementary  communal  needs, 
these  have  been  provided  for  by  the  villagers  themselves  from  their  self- 
taxation.  Among  the  needs  that  must  be  provided  for  are  the  Bet 
Ha-am,  the  school,  the  physician,  the  apothecary,  the  public  bath — and 
the  hospital.  Roads  also  had  to  be  built  by  the  villagers,  as  there  were 
practically  no  roads  in  Palestine.  The  only  roads  which  the  Jews 
found  there  were  the  Roman  roads,  and  they  were  not  in  repair.  The 
Arabs  with  their  donkeys  and  camels  prefer  to  travel  cross-country, 
and  the  Jews  have  had  to  provide  their  own  roads  as  well  as  their  own 
coaches  and  wagons,  and  have  often  had  to  pay  bribes  for  the  privilege 
of  building  these  roads. 

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GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 
Hashomer 

Until  after  the  war  the  Jewish  villages  had  not  been  organized  into  a 
federation  except  that  of  the  Union  of  Judaean  Colonies,  whose  pur- 
poses are  chiefly  those  of  a  grange.  In  1903  a  Kenessiah  or  conference 
of  delegates  of  Palestinian  Jews,  was  called  at  Zichron  Ya-acob,  but 
no  permanent  organization  was  effected.  But  a  co-operative  police 
system  was  organized  in  1910  by  Manya  Wilbushevitch  and  her  hus- 
band, Israel  Shochat.  This  police  force,  known  as  Hashomer,  is  more 
in  the  nature  of  a  Jewish  guard  or  night  watch.  They  are  not  needed 
for  internal  Jewish  policing,  but  only  for  protection  against  depreda- 
tions of  the  Jewish  fields  and  vineyards  by  the  Arabs.  At  first  Arab 
watchmen  were  employed,  but  the  effect  was  not  all  that  could  be 
desired.  In  1910  a  number  of  Jewish  young  men  organized  Hashomer. 
There  are  now  over  a  hundred  members  and  they  have  an  inter-village 
organization.  They  can  ride  and  shoot  as  well  as  the  Arabs  or  as  our 
Western  cowboys.  They  are  independent,  belonging  to  the  Union  of 
Hashomer,  and  hiring  themselves  out  individually  or  as  a  posse  to 
the  villages.  There  have  been  some  clashes  between  the  shomeritn 
and  the  Arabs,  but  on  the  whole  this  group  of  free  and  self-reliant 
young  men  has  won  the  respect  of  the  Arab  population,  and  so  has 
tended  to  improve  relations  between  the  two  peoples. 

Social  Life  in  the  Villages 

Social  life  in  the  villages  is  full  and  self-sufficient.  In  the  Bet 
Ha-am  there  is  housed  the  library;  a  number  of  clubs  meet  there; 
lectures  and  amateur  theatricals  are  given ;  and  there  is  usually  an 
amateur  orchestra  or  a  singing  society.  There  are  also  athletic 
societies,  notably  the  Maccabees,  who  on  all  occasions  of  public 
festivity  may  be  seen  marching  in  their  blue  and  white  uniforms. 
Singing  is  heard  everywhere.  It  seems  the  natural  expression  of 
Jewish  work  and  play  in  the  Jewish  land.  The  Sabbaths  and  festivals 
have  a  wonderful  Jewish  flavor.  And  yet,  though  the  community 
celebrates  them,  there  is  no  individual  compulsion.  No  man  asks 
what  another  does  indoors.  Early  on  Friday  afternoons  the  spirit  of 
Sabbath  descends  upon  the  village.  The  children  are  released  earlier 
than  usual  from  school  and  the  laborers  hasten  home  from  the  fields 
several  hours  sooner  than  on  other  days.  And  the  following  day  the 
place  is  pervaded  with  the  Sabbath  peace.  Everyone  is  out-of-doors. 
On  the  Jewish  festivals  all  the  villagers  unite  in  celebrating  them. 

170 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JEWISH  VILLAGES 

The  festive  table  is  spread  on  the  open  street  and  choruses  fill  the 
air.  It  is  a  return  to  the  spirit  of  their  ancestors — to  the  out-of-door 
spirit — that  is  voiced  in  the  Song  of  Songs. 

References: 

History  and  Development  of  Jewish  Colonisation  in  Palestine,  by  L.  Kessler. 
Jewish  Colonisation  in  Palestine,  by  S.  Tolkowsky.  Palestine  of  the  Jews,  by 
Norman  Bentwich,  Ch.  Ill  and  IV,  pp.  49-99. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

A  synopsis  of  Merhaviah,  by  Dr.  Franz  Oppenheimer.  The  labor  problem  in 
Palestine. 


171 


CHAPTER  XXVI 
THE    RELATION    OF    PALESTINIAN    JEWS    WITH    OTHER    PEOPLES* 

The  Problem  Threefold 

There  is  no  problem  more  complex  and  difficult  of  solution  than 
the  adjustment  of  the  relation  of  the  Palestinian  Jews  to  the  rest  of 
the  world.  In  order  to  facilitate  a  discussion  of  this  problem,  let  us 
consider  separately  their  relation  (a)  to  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
land ;  (b)  to  the  national  groups  adjacent  to  them,  and  (c)  to  the  Jews 
of  other  countries. 

Inhabitants  of  the  Land 

The  need  for  the  adoption  of  a  definite  attitude  toward  the  other 
inhabitants  of  the  land  is  urgent,  for  upon  it  rests  the  fate  of  the 
Jewish  resettlement.  Although  the  non-Jewish  population  of  Pales- 
tine numbered  only  600,000  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  and  numbers 
considerably  less  (excepting,  of  course,  the  British  forces)  at  present, 
it  is  composed  of  the  most  diverse  elements.  First  of  all  there  are 
the  Arabs,  about  500,000  in  number,  of  whom  the  vast  majority  are 
Moslems.  These  again  may  be  grouped  into  Fellaheen  (peasants), 
Bedouin  (nomads),  and  half -Bedouin,  that  is  to  say,  those  tribes  who 
are  sedentary  during  the  rainy  season.  There  are  few  Bedouin  and 
half-Bedouin  in  Western  Palestine.  They  are  scattered  chiefly  on  the 
high  plain  east  of  the  Jordan,  where  at  present  there  are  few  other 
inhabitants. 

The  Fellaheen 

Ethnologists  do  not  agree  about  the  descent  of  the  Fellaheen. 
The  probability  is  that  they  are  of  the  same  race  as  the  Arabs  of  the 
peninsula.  But  other  theories  have  been  advanced,  such  as  their  being 
descendants  of  the  aborigines  of  the  land,  or  perhaps,  even,  largely  of 
Jewish  blood.  However,  even  if  the  first  hypothesis  is  correct,  there 
is  no  doubt  that  they  have  undergone  a  not  inconsiderable  modification 
as  a  result  of  the  infusion  of  Arian  blood,  especially  at  the  time  of 
the  Crusades  and  the  Latin  Kingdom. 

*  By  Nellie  Straus. 

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PALESTINIAN  JEWS  AND  OTHER  NATIONALITIES 

The  Fellaheen  are  for  the  most  part  farmers,  even  those  living  in 
the  vicinity  of  towns.  The  city-dwellers  are  either  artisans  or  small 
traders.  The  Fellaheen  are  primitive  in  their  way  of  life,  which  has 
not  undergone  any  perceptible  change  in  the  course  of  twenty  cen- 
turies. They  are  illiterate  and  superstitious,  clinging  tenaciously  to 
age-old  habits  and  customs.  Their  wants  are  few,  and  they  produce 
most  of  the  necessities  of  life  in  their  homes.  In  fact,  one  general 
store  suffices  for  a  number  of  villages.  Each  village  consists  of  a 
group  of  huts  without  floors  or  chimneys,  in  which  there  are  two 
rooms,  the  dwelling-place  of  the  whole  family,  including  goats  and 
chickens.  The  Fellah  is  usually  monogamous,  because  he  cannot 
afford  to  pay  for  more  than  one  wife.  He  is  extremely  hospitable 
and  fond  of  festivals,  which  are  held  on  such  occasions  as  circum- 
cisions, weddings,  etc. 

There  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  the  Arabs  of  Palestine  are 
mentally  deficient  or  incapable  of  enlightenment.  On  the  contrary, 
those  who  have  been  educated  in  mission  schools  have  proved  to 
possess  keen  intellects,  worthy  of  their  ancestral  culture.  They  have 
obviously  been  crushed  by  the  political  and  economic  oppression 
exercised  by  the  Turkish  Government,  negatively  through  its  denying 
them  education  as  well  as  communication  and  transportation  facilities, 
and  positively  by  a  vicious  system  of  absentee  landlordism  and 
taxation. 

The  Bedouin 

The  Bedouin  are  even  more  primitive  and  unsophisticated  than 
the  Fellaheen.  They  gain  their  sustenance  by  raising  cattle,  camels, 
goats  and  sheep,  and  by  bringing  their  products  to  the  markets,  gen- 
erally Jerusalem  or  Gaza,  to  exchange  them  for  commodities  such  as 
coffee,  sugar,  tobacco,  etc.  The  honesty  of  the  Bedouin  is  proverbial. 
If  one  of  them  promises  to  bring  a  certain  number  of  camels  to  a 
given  place  the  following  spring  for  wares  received  in  the  fall,  he  will 
be  sure  to  fulfill  his  word ;  in  case  of  death  his  nearest  of  kin  take  the 
obligation  upon  themselves. 

Relations  with  Jews 

The  relation  of  the  Jews  to  the  Arabs  has  been  rather  complex. 
In  the  cases  where  it  has  been  bad,  the  fault  does  not  rest  wholly  with 
the  Arabs.  It  must  be  noted  that  reference  is  made  here  only  to  the 
"New  Settlement"  as  the  "old"  Jews  of  the  cities  have  had  practically 
no  contact  with  the  Arabs.    The  settlers  of  the  last  four  decades  have 

173 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

made  the  mistake,  with  few  exceptions,  of  not  trying  to  understand 
the  language  or  the  psychology  of  the  natives,  and  worse  still,  of 
treating  them  as  beings  of  an  inferior  order  and  as  usurpers  of  the 
land.  It  was  this  last-named  attitude  which  was  a  source  of  peculiar 
irritation  to  the  Arabs,  and  rightly  so.  Many  cases  of  trouble  between 
the  Jewish  patrol  (shomerim)  and  the  Arabs  were  due  partly  to  the 
fact  that  the  former  were  chosen  from  among  new  arrivals  from  Russia 
or  Roumania,  instead  of  from  among  Palestinian-born  Jews.  The 
attacks  upon  the  Jewish  villages  were  probably  not  due  solely  to  a 
marauding  spirit  among  the  Arabs,  but  also  to  an  envious  fear  of  the 
people  of  superior  education  and  economic  ability  who  were  slowly  but 
surely  gaining  possession  of  the  land.  However,  there  are  significant 
instances  of  a  spirit  of  good-will  and  mutual  helpfulness,  which  show 
that  friction  between  the  two  groups  is  avoidable.  The  physicians  of 
the  Jewish  villages  have  given  generously  of  their  time  and  energies  to 
neighboring  Arab  villages,  especially  women  physicians,  who  are  alone 
permitted  to  treat  the  Moslem  women.  The  Arabs  have  also  availed 
themselves  of  the  co-operative  drug  stores  in  the  Jewish  villages.  In 
fact,  health  conditions  in  the  Arab  villages  near  the  Jewish  settlements 
have  noticeably  improved.  The  Anglo-Palestine  Bank,  too,  has  many 
Arab  depositors  and  borrowers,  especially  among  the  orange  planters 
of  Jaffa.  Several  Arab  children  have  been  enrolled  in  the  Jewish 
schools. 

Labor  Problem 

Curiously  enough,  the  Arabs  have  been  the  cause  of  internal  dis- 
sention  among  the  Jews.  The  Jewish  settlers,  in  particular  the 
planters,  preferred  Arab  labor  to  Jewish  because  the  Arab  workman, 
with  his  lower  standard  of  living,  demands  a  lower  wage.  This 
tendency  has  been  severely  criticized  by  the  young  Jewish  men  and 
women  who  came  to  Palestine  as  farm-hands  and  were  unable  to 
secure  employment.  Of  recent  years  many  Jewish  planters  and 
farmers,  in  deference  to  this  prejudice,  agreed  to  engage  none  but 
Jewish  labor.  It  is  evident  that  either  extreme  is  pernicious.  The 
exclusion  of  Arab  labor  from  Jewish  economic  life  makes  for  a  rift 
between  the  two  groups  which  may  have  dire  consequences.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  equally  dangerous  to  withhold  the  opportunity  of 
farm-work  from  Jewish  immigrants.  The  obvious,  as  well  as  humane 
solution  of  the  problem,  is  the  introduction  of  a  minimum  wage. 

Unless  pressure  is  exercised  from  without  to  incite  the  Arabs 
against  the  Jews,   or  vice-versa,   there  is  no   reason  to  suppose  that 

174 


PALESTINIAN  JEWS  AND  OTHER  NATIONALITIES 

they  cannot  live  side  by  side  in  increasing  good-will  and  confidence. 
In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  note  the  importance  of  fostering 
Hebrew  as  the  Jewish  medium  of  intercourse,  in  preference  to  a 
European  idiom.  Hebrew  is  much  like  Arabic,  and  its  use  is  a  power- 
ful factor  in  bringing  home  to  the  Arabs  the  realization  that  the  Jews 
are  closely  related  to  them,  and  not  an  alien  people. 

Christians  in  Palestine 

The  Christians  of  Palestine,  numbering  about  100,000,  are  a 
strange  medley  of  peoples  of  all  classes  and  circumstances,  hailing 
from  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  Greek  Catholics,  Armenians  and 
Copts  rub  shoulders  with  Roman  Catholics  and  Protestants  from 
Western  Europe  and  America.  Practically  all  of  them  have  come  to 
Palestine  from  religious  motives,  either  as  members  of  a  religious 
order,  as  teachers  in  mission  schools,  as  medical  missionaries,  or 
simply  for  the  sake  of  spending  their  days  in  the  Holy  Land.  The 
Jews  have  not  had  intimate  dealings  with  them  up  to  now.  Attempts 
to  proselytize  among  the  Jews  have  met  with  so  little  success  that  of 
late  missionary  efforts  have  been  directed  almost  exclusively  toward 
the  Moslems.  That  the  Christians  will  not  permit  their  Holy  Places 
to  pass  into  Jewish  hands  now  that  they  have  been  wrested  from 
Turkish  dominion  is  certain.  On  the  other  hand,  Jerusalem  is  bound 
to  be  more  or  less  international  in  character,  and  a  majority  of  Chris- 
tians in  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth  can  in  no  way  hamper  the  economic 
or  cultural  development  of  the  Jews. 

Neighboring  Nations 

So  far  the  Jews  of  Palestine,  possessing  no  political  status,  have 
stood  in  no  distinct  relationship  either  to  neighboring  peoples  or  to 
the  rest  of  the  world.  As  a  matter  of  fact  there  have  not  been  any 
neighboring  peoples,  nationally  speaking.  Turkish  suzerainty  made 
development  impossible,  even  for  the  Lebanon  (north  of  Palestine), 
an  autonomous  province  under  the  protection  of  six  Christian  powers. 
Now,  however,  that  the  national  groups  more  or  less  near  to  Palestine, 
such  as  the  Lebanese,  the  Arabs  of  the  Hedjaz,  and  the  Armenians, 
are  in  process  of  becoming  independent,  it  is  reasonable  to  suppose 
that  there  will  be  intimate  ties  between  them.  Industrially  and 
commercially  the  various  groups  will  have  close  affiliations.  Their 
friendship  and  co-operation  should  be  of  the  finest  and  most  altruistic, 
as  peoples  who,  having  suffered  ignominy  and  persecution,  have  come 
into  their  own  without  infringement  upon  the  rights  either  of  each 
other  or  the  rest  of  the  world. 

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GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Jews  of  the  Dispersion 

It  is  often  asked  what  effect  the  establishment  of  a  Jewish  national 
center  in  Palestine  will  have  upon  the  Jews  remaining  in  the  disper- 
sion. Obviously,  it  will  in  no  wise  affect  their  national  allegiances, 
any  more  than  the  restoration  of  Greece  did  that  of  Greeks  living  in 
other  countries.  That  Palestine  will  exert  a  tremendous  spiritual 
influence  cannot  be  doubted.  Apart  from  the  fact  that  Judaism  may 
in  the  future  once  more  possess  an  authoritative  body  similar  to  the 
Sanhedrin,  the  effect  of  knowing  that  there  is  a  Jewish  homeland, 
that  governments  recognize  Jewish  emissaries,  that  there  is  a  Hebrew 
University  fostering  the  national  Jewish  tongue,  and  a  merchant  marine 
flying  the  Jewish  flag,  will  unquestionably  be  to  increase  the  self-respect 
of  every  Jew  in  the  world,  even  though  he  have  no  desire  to  leave  the 
country  of  his  birth  or  adoption. 

References: 

Village  Life  in  Palestine,  by  J.  Robinson  Lees. 
Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  Christian  peoples  of  Palestine.     The  Syrian  national  movement. 


176 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

LIFE    IN    THE    CITIES    OF    PALESTINE 
Jerusalem 

Jerusalem,  the  Holy  City,  is  built  in  the  mountains.  Yet  no  high 
mountains  are  seen  from  it — it  appears  comparatively  flat — because 
of  its  own  elevation.  It  lies  at  about  2,500  feet  above  sea  level;  it 
has  a  number  of  hills,  among  them  Mount  Scopus,  the  Mount  of  Olives 
and  Mount  Zion ;  on  the  north  it  runs  into  the  rocky  mountain  range  of 
Judaea;  to  the  east,  west,  and  south  are  deep  ravines.  The  Jordan  is 
not  visible,  but  from  some  points  its  depression  can  be  seen,  and  the 
opposite  line  of  the  mountains  of  Moab,  deep  blue  like  an  ocean 
congealed. 

The  inner  or  old  city,  within  the  city  walls,  was  before  the  British 
occupation,  dirty,  ill-smelling,  and  overcrowded,  yet  picturesque  in 
its  hoary  age.  The  crooked  streets  are  ill-paved  and  so  narrow  that 
no  vehicle  can  be  used ;  many  of  them  are  blind  alleys.  All  the  houses 
are  of  stone.  The  roofs  and  walls  are  so  arranged  as  to  catch  the 
rain  water  which  runs  into  cisterns  in  the  courts.  This  until  recently 
has  been  almost  the  only  water-supply  of  the  inner  city,  eked  out  in 
summer  by  the  Arab  water-seller,  who  carries  water  in  bags  made 
of  the  whole  skins  of  sheep  or  goats.  The  dwellings,  of  one  or  two 
rooms,  covered  with  flat  domes,  open  on  a  stone  court,  and  all  the 
stairways  and  passages  are  open  to  the  sky.  Thus  a  number  of 
dwellings  are  combined  into  one  structure.  The  rooms  in  one  dwelling 
in  these  old  houses  are  not  divided  by  walls  but  only  by  one  or  two 
steps  leading  to  a  higher  level.  Chairs  are  uncommon  in  the  dwellings 
of  the  Orientals.  The  couch  or  sofa  is  covered  with  gay  stuff  and 
bright  cushions.  The  rooms  are  large  with  very  small  windows. 
Part  of  the  roofs  are  arranged  so  they  can  be  used  as  if  they  were 
balconies.  Life  in  summer  is  spent  out  of  doors.  The  shops  are  open 
on  the  street,  with  their  gay  wares  projecting.  A  careless  donkey 
or  camel  may  cause  wild  havoc. 

Miss  Alice  Seligsberg,  administrator  of  the  American  Zionist 
Medical  Unit,  has  written  the  following  description  in  a  letter :  "We 
walked  down  Jaffa  Street,  through  narrow  vaulted  thoroughfares  open 
to  the  sky  for  the  most  part,  but  here  and  there  completely  covered, 

177 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

and  always  leading  down  lower  and  lower,  by  stairs  of  one  step  and 
a  landing  space,  repeated  perhaps  a  hundred  times.  On  each  side 
were  arched  bazaars  for  the  sale  of  fruits,  vegetables,  stuffs,  and  other 
vari-colored  merchandise.  The  masonry  throughout  as  well  as  the 
pavements  were  of  pale  cream  colored  stone,  the  buildings  were  almost 
all  two-story  structures,  the  upper  floor  serving  residential  purposes. 
Here  and  there  balconies  projected,  brightened  with  bunches  of  red 
peppers  or  with  green  plants.  If  this  ancient  quarter  of  the  city  were 
cleaned  out,  if  the  flies  and  donkeys  and  human  filth  were  destroyed, 
a  landscape  artist  could  make  this  part  of  Jerusalem  look  as  if  it 
led  higher  and  higher  toward  heaven." 

The  beautiful  and  impressive  dome  of  the  Mosque  of  Omar,  one 
of  the  holiest  of  Moslem  houses  of  worship,  stands  on  the  ancient 
site  of  the  Temple.  But  if  Jews  as  well  as  Christians  are  excluded 
from  its  recesses,  there  is  one  point  near  by  which  is  altogether  Jewish. 
At  the  Western  or  Wailing  Wall,  against  the  massive  and  weather- 
beaten  rocks,  groups  of  old-world  Jews  still  pray  and  shed  their  tears, 
especially  as  the  Sabbath  approaches,  testifying  in  this  negative  and 
plaintive  way  to  the  undying  Jewish  national  hope. 

The  Jaffa  Gate,  which  leads  to  the  outer  city,  is  the  busiest  center 
of  the  town.  Here  are  shops  and  bazaars,  a  medley  of  costumes  and 
physiognomies  of  all  nations,  carriages,  camels,  donkeys,  dirt,  and 
bustle.  Here  stands  the  massive  gray  tower,  the  so-called  "Tower  of 
David",  dating  from  the  fourteenth  century.  Beyond  the  Jaffa  Gate 
is  the  Jaffa  Road,  leading  out  into  the  suburbs.  Almost  half  of  Jeru- 
salem is  suburbs. 

Estimates  of  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  since  1912  have  varied 
from  70,000  to  100,000,  but  the  former  number  is  probably  correct, 
and  of  these  much  more  than  half  were  Jews.  The  war  has  reduced 
the  Jews  from  about  50,000  to  26,000.  The  Moslems  numbered  before 
the  war  about  one-eighth  and  the  Christians  about  one-fifth  of  the 
population.  And  this  whole  population  has  been  much  reduced  by  the 
war,  temporarily  no  doubt.  In  1881  Jerusalem  is  said  to  have  had 
35,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  only  12,000  were  Jews.  The  Jewish 
population  is  divided  not  only  into  the  Ashkenazim,  the  Sephardim 
and  other  Oriental  Jews,  but  each  of  these  is  again  divided  into  infini- 
tesimal groups,  hailing  from  various  lands,  each  Kahal  having  its  own 
synagogue.  The  Halukkah  has  in  great  measure  been  responsible  for 
this  division,  as  also  for  the  jealousies  and  feuds  that  often  exist.  But 
if  Jerusalem  Jewry  presents  no  happy  picture,  conditions  among  the 
Christians,  whose  various  sects  live  at  daggers'  points  with  each  other, 

178 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 

are  far  more  deplorable.  "The  bitter  war  which  rages  among  them  is 
carried  on  with  very  foul  weapons,  and  the  contempt  with  which  the 
Orthodox  Jews  and  Mohammedans  look  down  on  the  Christians  is 
only  too  well  deserved."* 

Every  Easter  thousands  of  poor  Russian  Christians  pass  as  pil- 
grims through  Jerusalem.  The  mixture  of  nationalities,  if  spiritually 
disconcerting,  is  marvelously  picturesque.  Among  the  Jews  the  older 
immigrants  keep  to  their  original  costumes.  The  Bokharan  Jews — 
among  the  wealthiest  recent  settlers — wear  on  the  Sabbath  long  silk 
robes  of  brilliant  and  beautiful  colors  in  medieval  styles.  Both  men  and 
women,  tall  and  aristocratic  looking,  are  clad  thus.  The  Ashkenazim 
wear  flowing  purple  or  rose-colored  velvet  gowns  and  long  earlocks. 
Their  head-dress  is  trimmed  with  a  wreath  of  fur. 

In  Jerusalem  there  are  several  Jewish  quarters — for  as  everywhere 
in  the  Orient  each  nationality  has  its  own  district — and  these  Jewish 
quarters  have  each  a  distinct  history.  Within  the  old  city  are  chiefly 
the  Halukkah  Jews.  But  outside  of  the  inner  city,  along  the  Jaffa 
Road,  one  Jewish  quarter  after  another  has  sprung  up  in  recent  years, 
until  Jewish  Jerusalem  outside  the  walls  is  three  times  as  large  as 
within  the  walls.  There  is  Shaare  Zedek,  and  behind  it  the  poorest  of 
Jewish  sections,  the  Yemenite  and  Persian  quarter,  called  the  "tin 
quarter"  because  the  floorless,  windowless  huts  are  roofed  and  clamped 
with  tin  from  Standard  Oil  Company  cans.  There  is  Ohel  Mosheh,  a 
Montefiore  colony,  and  beyond  it,  the  modern  and  pleasant  Zichron 
Mosheh,  the  most  modern  of  Jewish  quarters,  with  its  attractive  rose- 
colored  stone  houses  surrounded  by  gardens.  Then  there  is  Meah 
Shearim,  a  bit  of  Russian  Ghetto  transplanted  to  Palestine,  and  in 
contrast  is  Rehobot,  a  modern  quarter,  where  dwell  the  well-to-do 
Bokharan  Jews  in  large  and  pleasant  houses  with  balconies  and 
gardens. 

The  Jews  in  Jerusalem  have  four  hospitals,  as  many  orphan 
asylums,  an  insane  asylum,  an  asylum  for  the  blind,  two  old-folks' 
homes,  several  soup  kitchens,  and  an  eye  clinic.  There  are  schools,  a 
nurses'  settlement,  the  health  bureau,  club-houses,  and  publishing 
houses.  There  are  two  good  Jewish  hotels,  the  Amdursky  and  the 
Kameriitz,  just  outside  Jaffa  Gate.  There  are  three  large  synagogues 
and  more  than  one  hundred  small  ones. 

Among  the  Old  Settlement  Jews  there  is  a  great  dearth  of  indus- 
trial training,  especially  among  the  women,  who  have  not  even  proper 
training  for  home-making.    Marriages  of  girls  are  generally  very  early, 

*  Palestine  and  Syria,  by  Karl  Baedeker,  1912,  p.  33. 

179 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

among  the  Yemenites  as  early  as  at  eleven  years.  There  are  numerous 
Jewish  artisans  and  shop-keepers,  but  the  low  economic  development 
of  the  country  affords  them  little  work.  Hence  the  dire  poverty. 
Charity  has  led  to  pauperization.  About  1850,  Mrs.  James  Finn,  wife 
of  a  British  consul,  started  an  industrial  and  agricultural  enterprise 
for  Jews,  called  "Abraham's  Vineyard",  to  which  the  Jews  flocked 
for  work.  The  Bezalel  School  has  employed  and  trained  hundreds 
from  the  Old  Yishub.  Industrial  schools,  industrial  opportunities,  and  a 
minimum  wage  would  recreate  old  Jerusalem. 

The  problem  of  disunity  is  a  problem  for  the  new  settlement.  At 
first  the  tendency  was  for  the  New  Yishub  to  ignore  or  defy  the  old. 
But  recently,  it  has  become  clear  that  if  Palestine  is  to  prosper,  they 
must  merge.  The  children  of  the  Old  Yishub  are  attending  the  general 
and  technical  schools  of  the  New.  Jewish  nationalism  is  creating 
Jewish  unity.  The  war,  which  disrupted  the  Halukkah  operations, 
may  be  the  first  step  toward  its  reform.  The  British  in  their  short  stay 
have  cleaned  the  streets  and  have  already  installed  a  good  part  of  a 
modern  water  system  and  drainage.  Jerusalem  holds  within  itself  the 
physical  as  well  as  the  spiritual  possibilities  of  complete  moderniza- 
tion. The  Weizmann  commission — more  especially  Dr.  Weizmann 
himself — has  further  drawn  together  all  Jewish  factions  in  Jerusalem. 
The  Jews  of  the  city  have  taken  steps  toward  organization,  and  a  measure 
of  order  has  been  brought  into  the  school  system. 

The  hope  of  Jerusalem,  socially  and  hygienically  speaking,  lies 
outside  of  Jerusalem.  Many  Zionists  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  old  city 
ought  to  become  a  sort  of  Roman  Forum,  a  national  treasure  place  of 
antiquities  through  its  excavations,  and  that  only  the  suburbs  should 
be  used  for  residential  and  business  purposes. 

Jaffa 

Jaffa,  rising  creamy  white  on  its  hill,  is  beautiful  from  the  blue 
Mediterranean.  But  within,  the  old  city  is  anything  but  lovely.  Its 
streets  are  covered  ankle  deep  with  dust,  which  turns  to  mud  in  the 
rainy  season.  However,  here  too  the  British  have  already  remedied 
matters,  have  introduced  a  measure  of  cleanliness  and  order,  and  have 
cleared  a  road  through  the  maze  of  lanes  to  the  port.  Djemal  Pasha, 
too,  during  his  military  rule  had  an  avenue  built  by  a  Jewish  engineer. 
The  Arab  bazaar  is  busy  and  picturesque.  The  city,  like  Jerusalem, 
is  divided  into  the  "old"  and  the  "new",  and  it  is  surrounded  by 
wonderfully  beautiful  gardens  and  orange  groves,  among  them  those 
of  the  neighboring  Jewish  villages.    As  a  port,  Jaffa  is  very  imperfect. 

180 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 

The  rocky  reefs  make  it  necessary  to  reach  land  by  small  boats,  since 
the  steamers  cannot  dock — an  uncomfortable  and  sometimes 
dangerous  proceeding. 

There  are  three  Jewish  quarters  in  Jaffa  proper,  Neveh  Zedek, 
Neveh  Shalom  and  Neveh  Yafeh,  each  comprising  a  block  of  houses. 
Of  the  50,000  inhabitants  before  the  war  about  30,000  were  Moslems, 
10,000  Christians,  and  10,000  Jews  (Baedeker  and  Trietsch,  1912). 
Tel  Aviv,  the  Jewish  garden  suburb  of  Jaffa,  is  the  pride  of  Jewish 
Palestine,  and  here  about  one-quarter  of  Jaffa's  Jews  dwell.  Naturally 
the  Turkish  deportations  and  persecutions  have  reduced  the  popula- 
tion temporarily.  Tel  Aviv  had  been  growing,  too,  into  additional 
Jewish  suburbs.  The  housing  problem,  here  as  in  Jerusalem,  was  an 
acute  one.  With  the  growth  of  the  Jewish  population,  rents  rose 
enormously.  In  1909  the  Jewish  National  Fund,  diverging  from  its 
accepted  policy,  made  a  loan  of  $48,000  to  the  Ahuzat  Bayit,  a  co-opera- 
tive building  association.  However,  lack  of  direct  control  by  the 
National  Fund  has  resulted  in  speculation  in  real  estate.  Tel  Aviv 
has  grown  to  be  a  beautiful,  healthful,  neat,  and  dustless  quarter, 
thoroughly  Jewish  and  nationalist.  Its  broad  streets  are  lined  with 
trees.  Herzl  Street,  with  the  imposing  Hebrew  high  school  at  its 
head,  is  bright  and  lovely.  The  public  lighting  and  water  systems 
are  modern.  The  houses  have  running  water,  the  water  supply  is 
ample,  and  the  square-set  concrete  houses  stand  in  gardens.  The 
inhabitants  are  free,  progressive,  independent,  and  wholly  Hebraic. 
Here  are  the  public  institutions  and  buildings,  the  office  of  the  Odessa 
Committee  and  the  Palestine  Bureau,  the  schools,  synagogues,  Shaare 
Zedek  Hospital,  the  Bet-Am,  and  the  library.  There  is  local  self-govern- 
ment as  in  the  Jewish  villages,  and  self-imposed  restrictions  as  to  build- 
ing, street  width,  shops,  policing,  etc.,  have  made  of  it  a  model  town. 

Haifa 

Lying  in  the  Bay  of  Acre,  among  its  palms,  with  a  spur  of  Carmel 
just  behind  it,  castle-crowned,  and  with  Carmel  itself  rising  clear  and 
high  out  of  a  wreath  of  gardens  and  olive  orchards,  Haifa  is  indeed 
well  set.  It  is  the  one  natural  harbor  of  Palestine,  in  its  deep  bay  with 
its  curve  of  smooth,  hard  beach.  Today  it  is  less  important  than  Jaffa 
as  a  port,  but  the  artificial  break-water  and  harbor  that  must  be  built 
should  make  of  it  the  most  important  harbor  of  Palestine.  It  will  no 
doubt  become  the  largest  and  richest  city  of  the  land.  Through  it 
flows,  even  now,  the  wealth  of  wheat  and  corn  brought  on  camels  from 
the  fertile  plains  of  Hauran  east  of  Jordan. 

181 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Haifa  had  before  the  war  a  population  of  about  20,000,  more 
than  half  of  them  Moslems,  about  5,000  Jews,  and  the  rest  various 
sects  of  Christians  (Baedeker  1912).  The  Jews,  many  of  them 
Morroccans,  have  almost  all  settled  there  within  the  last  sixty  years. 
Latterly  the  Jewish  immigration  has  been  chiefly  Roumanian.  The 
town  is  modern  and  comparatively  clean,  due  in  large  measure  to  the 
German  Christian  colony ;  and  altogether  it  is  attractive.  It  is  growing 
rapidly.  The  Jews  are  planning  and  have  begun  to  build  a  garden 
suburb,  Herzlia,  on  the  side  of  Carmel,  of  the  same  type  as  Tel  Aviv, 
but  even  more  "restricted".  As  at  Jaffa,  the  Jewish  life  is  in  close 
touch  and  sympathy  with  that  of  the  neighboring  Jewish  agricultural 
villages.  If  many  of  the  Jews  are  poor,  yet  the  community  is  self- 
supporting  and  industrious.    It  has  created  and  satisfied  its  own  needs. 

Hebron 

The  three  other  "holy"  cities,  besides  Jerusalem,  prove  that  in 
modern  parlance  holiness  is  not  akin  to  cleanliness.  Hebron,  the  city 
of  the  Patriarchs,  is  a  little  town  which  before  the  war  had  about 
22,000  inhabitants,  20,000  Moslems,  2,000  Jews,  and  practically  no 
Christians  (Baedeker,  1912).  The  Jews,  we  know,  have  been  reduced 
by  the  war  to  only  about  600.  Hebron  lies  20  miles  south  of  Jerusalem 
among  the  southern  mountains  of  Judaea,  3,400  feet  above  sea-level, 
in  a  narrow,  well-watered  and  very  fertile  valley.  Good  wine  is  still 
made  by  the  Jews  from  its  grapes,  and  almond  and  apricot  trees 
abound.  The  Moslems  here  are  extremely  fanatical.  The  Haram,  the 
area  surrounding  the  legendary  site  of  the  Cave  of  Machpelah,  is  held 
to  be  specially  sacred,  and  no  non-Moslem,  "unbeliever,"  is  permitted 
to  go  beyond  the  seventh  step  in  its  hoary  wall.  Within  is  an  ancient 
Mosque.  "You  find  fig  trees  and  cactus  hedges,  and  at  the  bottom  of 
this  shut-in  valley  there  is  this  wonderful  old  city,  with  its  tortuous 
narrow  streets  where  no  wheeled  vehicle  can  go,  built  over  with 
arches,  with  houses  five  and  six  stories  high,  built  of  the  beautiful 
yellowish  golden  limestone  of  Judaea."*  Except  for  the  high  houses, 
it  resembles  the  other  Arab  towns ;  its  roofs,  too,  are  used  for  balcony 
purposes,  as  elsewhere,  and  the  glorious  sunlight  and  fresh  climate 
compensate  in  a  measure  for  human  slovenliness. 

Until  recently  fanaticism  was  so  intense  that  the  Jews  were 
practically  prisoners  in  their  Ghettos.  For  here  is  indeed  Ghetto  life. 
Even  now,  though  life  is  gradually  growing  freer,  the  walled  Ghetto 

*  Major  William  Ormsby-Gore,  Address. 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 

still  has  all  its  gates  locked  each  night.  Almost  all  the  Jews,  who  are 
pitifully  poor,  depend  upon  the  Halukkah.  This  maintains  several 
synagogues,  Batte  Hamidrash,  Yeshibot,  and  Talmud  Torah  schools 
for  both  the  Sephardim  and  the  Ashkenazim.  Recently  a  Hebrew 
kindergarten  has  brought  a  breath  of  the  new  spirit.  There  are  a  few 
carpenters  and  shoe  makers,  and  some  Jews  are  employed  in  a  glass 
factory  which  manufactures  jewels  and  trinkets  from  old  glass.  There 
are  three  mutual  aid  societies  and  a  free  dispensary.  The  Jews  live  in 
most  appalling  squalor  and  filth  in  a  maze  of  dark,  crooked,  narrow 
alleys.  Here  the  spirit  of  the  new  life  has  hardly  yet  come  to  breathe 
upon  the  dead  bones. 

Safed 

Perched  on  a  mountain  in  Galilee,  2,750  feet  above  sea-level,  the 
holy  city  of  Safed,  amid  beautiful  scenery,  in  a  bracing  climate  and 
lovely  to  look  upon  from  without,  is  within  hopelessly  dirty,  ill- 
smelling,  sordid.  Down  the  center  of  its  streets  run  open  sewers.  The 
majority  of  its  inhabitants  are  Jews.  Before  the  war  there  were  about 
20,000  inhabitants,  of  whom  only  7,000  were  Moslems,  and  from  400 
to  500  Christians  (Baedeker,  1912).  The  war  has  reduced  the  Jewish 
population  to  3,000. 

The  Jewish  community  dates  from  the  sixteenth  century,  when 
Safed  was  a  world-famed  center  of  Rabbinism  and  the  Kabbalah 
(see  Ch.  XXIII).  Twice,  in  1769  and  in  1837,  the  Jewish  community 
suffered  great  loss  of  life  from  earthquakes;  and  plagues  also  made 
frequent  and  terrible  ravages.  Because  of  its  Rabbinic  history,  the 
city  is  looked  upon  as  holy,  and  the  Messiah  is  expected  to  appear 
there.  Sir  Moses  Montefiore  and  Isaac  Vita  rebuilt  houses  and  syna- 
gogues after  1837,  but  not  their  reconstruction  nor  yet  the  two  well- 
conducted  schools  supported  by  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle  and 
Baron  de  Rothschild  have  been  able  to  revitalize  the  ancient,  decrepit  life. 
Almost  all  the  Jews  are  supported  by  the  Halukkah.  Their  intense 
religious  life,  with  even  its  local  festivals  and  customs — such  as  the 
festival  of  Simeon  ben  Yohai  which  attracts  many  pilgrims — have 
been  recently  supplemented  by  a  Zionist  society.  There  is  also  a  lodge 
of  the  B'ne  B'rit.  Depressed  and  depressing  as  is  this  languishing 
Jewish  life,  a  breath  of  hope  has  blown  upon  it. 

Tiberias 

The  holy  city  of  Tiberias  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  shores  of 
the  blue  lake  of  Gennesaret,  on  a  narrow  plain  between  the  lake  and 

183 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

the  hills.  It  is  entered  through  a  Roman  gateway,  beside  the  ruins  of 
a  Roman  castle.  The  town  is  predominantly  Jewish,  having  before 
the  war  about  7,000  Jewish  inhabitants,  1,400  Moslems,  and  only  about 
200  Christians  (Baedeker,  1912).  The  narrow,  dirty  streets  are  lined 
with  little  white  houses  of  mud  or  stone,  with  no  or  few  windows, 
cave-like  dwellings,  into  which  man  and  beast  descend  together  at 
the  fall  of  night.  It  has  unpleasant  renown  for  its  vermin,  the  Arabs 
claiming  that  there  the  king  of  the  fleas  holds  his  court.  The  Jewish 
community  is  very  old,  and  ever  since  the  dispersion  Tiberias  has 
been  famed  in  Jewish  history.  At  first  the  Jews  refused  to  dwell 
there  because  it  was  built  over  a  cemetery,  but  after  the  destruction 
of  Jerusalem  it  became  a  center  of  Jewish  learning,  and  has  remained 
ever  since  dedicated  to  Jewish  study.  Most  of  its  inhabitants  are 
Halukkah  Jews.  It  has  its  Yeshibot  and  Talmud  Torahs  and  numerous 
synagogues.  The  breath  of  the  Hebrew  revival  has  barely  touched  it, 
yet  it  cannot  long  delay.  With  the  revival  of  modern  Palestine,  the 
Lake  of  Tiberias  is  bound  to  attract  tourists  to  its  mineral  springs. 
Economic  revival  must  bring  moral  and  social  awakening.  The  Mizrahi 
(see  Ch.  XV)  among  the  Zionists  have  proved  that  intense  traditional 
Jewishness  is  compatible  with  national  life  and  progress.  Soon  the  day 
may  come  when  these  ancient  cities  shall  be  called  not  only  holy  but 
wholesome. 

Gaza 

Although  Gaza  was  before  the  war  inhabited  by  only  about  150 
Jews,  among  a  population  of  40,000  Moslems,  many  of  them  more  or 
less  settled  Bedouin,  and  perhaps  1,100  Christians  (Baedeker,  1912), 
its  position  of  importance  and  its  promise  for  the  future  make  it  of 
interest  to  Jewish  nationalists.  It  is  an  oasis  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
desert,  many-fountained,  beautiful  among  its  gardens  and  orchards, 
on  the  rim  of  the  blue  Mediterranean.  The  city  has  an  Egyptian 
tinge,  noticeable  in  the  costumes  of  its  inhabitants.  Golden  sands, 
palm  trees,  deep  wells,  rich  gardens,  white  masonry  scattered  upon  its 
hills,  such  is  the  truly  Oriental  Gaza.  Here  the  Bedouin  come  to 
trade  grain,  dates,  olives,  figs,  and  lentils.  Pottery  and  weaving  were 
carried  on  here  before  the  war,  the  latter  with  wool  from  Manchester 
in  a  German-owned  mill.  The  British  occupation  has  given  Gaza  a 
railroad  up  from  Egypt  and  up  to  Jerusalem.  Gaza  is  a  natural  port 
as  well  as  the  halting  place  between  Egypt  and  Syria,  yet  no  light- 
house flashes  across  its  roadstead.  There  is  no  break- water;  there  is 
no  harbor.    Lighters  load  in  shallow  water  and  pound  the  beach  when 

184 


LIFE  IN  THE  CITIES  OF  PALESTINE 

the  wind  blows.  Gaza  is  not  easily  reached  by  coasting  boat  or  by 
camel.  No  steamers  call  regularly,  and  there  are  no  banking  facilities 
nearer  than  Jaffa.  Despite  poverty  and  lack  of  sanitation,  the  people 
thrive  in  the  healthful  climate.  The  mystic,  quiet,  often  barren  beauty 
of  Palestine  holds  its  breath  for  a  new  era. 

Notes  on  Cities 

(1)  Religions.  In  the  Orient  religion  is  more  distinguishing  than 
nationality,  and  has  its  ancient  political  significance.  Where  Christians 
are  mentioned,  the  term  refers  to  Greek  Catholics,  Roman  Catholics, 
various  Protestant  sects,  and  so  covers  a  variety  of  disunified  and 
often  antagonistic  peoples. 

(2)  Size  of  cities.  What  is  dignified  by  the  name  of  "city" 
often  appears  as  no  more  than  a  small  town  or  village.  The  cities  of 
Bible  fame  were  even  smaller. 

(3)  Other  cities.  Damascus,  which  has  a  considerable  Jewish 
population  is  not  accounted  part  of  Palestine.  In  other  cities  the 
Jewish  population  is  small.  Ancient  Shechem,  or  Nablus,  is  interest- 
ing for  its  few  families  of  Samaritans,  unchanged  in  their  creed  or 
customs  since  Bible  times.  In  Nazareth  and  Bethlehem  no  Jews  dwell ; 
they  are  centers  of  a  Christian  fanaticism  bound  up  with  their  later 
religious  history. 

(4)  Ruins.  "The  further  you  go  the  more  frequently  you  are 
reminded  that  you  are  in  a  land  of  lost  footsteps.  Plain  and  mountain 
are  haunted  with  suggestion  of  vanished  populations.  Traces  of 
deserted  villages,  broken  stone  dykes,  stone  presses  for  wine  or  oil, 
water  tanks,  rock  tombs,  perhaps  fragments  of  a  church,  tell  of  green 
orchards  and  of  fields  once  fertile.  On  the  uplands  almost  every  ridge 
and  peak  is  topped  with  ruins." — From  Damn  in  Palestine,  by  William 
Canton. 

References: 

Becent  Jewish  Progress  in  Palestine,  by  Henrietta  Szold,  JJroan  Development, 
p.  98.  Palestine  of  the  Jews,  by  Norman  Bentwich,  Ch.  V  and  VI,  pp.  100-151. 
Palestine,  by  A.  Hyamson,   (First  Edition),  Ch.  7  to  9,  pp.  59-91. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  HaluJcTcah:  Its  history  and  prospects  for  its  reform.  City  planning:  How 
can  it  be  applied  in  an  ancient  land? 


185 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 
THE    PROBLEMS    OF   SANITATION    IN    PALESTINE* 
Conditions  in  Jerusalem 

The  health  of  a  city  is  conditioned  by  two  factors,  its  location  and 
the  standard  of  life  of  the  inhabitants.  The  location  of  Jerusalem  from 
the  standpoint  of  healthfulness  is  excellent.  It  is  built  on  a  dry 
plateau,  2,400  feet  above  sea  level ;  it  has  a  sustained  temperate  climate, 
rarely  rising  above  85  degrees  F.  in  summer  or  falling  below  the 
freezing  temperature  in  winter.  Throughout  the  summer  a  cool  sea 
breeze  plays  over  the  city  during  the  day;  there  are  no  swamps  in 
the  neighborhood  infested  with  disease-carrying  mosquitoes.  These 
fine  prospects  for  a  healthy  city  are  counteracted  by  the  characteristic 
Oriental  indifference  of  the  inhabitants  to  personal  hygiene.  Partly 
this  is  due  to  ignorance,  partly  to  its  half-brother  poverty,  and  partly 
also  to  the  real  scarcity  of  water  in  Jerusalem. 

The  immediate  problem  confronting  Jerusalem  is  the  obtaining  of 
an  adequate  supply  of  pure  water.  This  has  been  partly  solved  recently 
by  the  British,  who  piped  the  water  from  a  series  of  springs  some  miles 
away  direct  to  the  city.  These  springs  furnish  about  14,000  gallons 
of  water  per  hour  and  form  an  invaluable  supplement  to  the  cistern 
supply.  Prior  to  this,  the  cistern  was  the  only  source,  and  even  now 
it  still  is  the  main  supply  on  which  the  bulk  of  the  population  depends. 
These  cisterns  store  the  rain  water  from  one  winter  to  the  next.  If  the 
rainfall  is  low,  the  supply  is  inadequate ;  even  with  an  abundant  rain- 
fall the  water  rarely  suffices  for  the  entire  summer.  Consequently  a 
degree  of  economy  is  practised  which  naturally  leads  to  uncleanliness. 
The  cistern  is  furthermore  a  great  menace  because  it  affords  a  breeding 
place  for  the  anopheles  mosquito,  the  carrier  of  the  malaria  parasite — 
the  great  scourge  of  Jerusalem  and  the  whole  of  Palestine. 

Poverty  and  ignorance  are  contributing  causes  of  the  unhealthy 
condition  of  Jerusalem.  Poverty  leads  to  congestion,  and  congestion 
favors  the  rapid  spread  of  various  contagious  diseases,  particularly 
pneumonia,  tuberculosis,  dysentery  and  cholera.  Filthiness  seems  to 
be  the  natural  condition  of  most  Oriental  cities.     In  Jerusalem  as 

*  By  Dr.  Israel  J.  Kligler. 

186 


THE  PROBLEMS  OF  SANITATION  IN  PALESTINE 

elsewhere  in  Turkey  the  outhouse  is  a  crude  pit  built  in  the  court, 
often  in  close  proximity  to  the  cistern.  Infiltration  of  material  from 
the  pit  to  the  well  is  almost  inevitable;  this  is  probably  a  factor 
in  the  dissemination  of  dysentery,  typhoid,  and  cholera.  Personal 
uncleanliness  also  leads  to  breeding  of  vermin,  which  contribute 
largely  to  the  high  morbidity  in  Jerusalem.  The  vermin  are  respon- 
sible for  the  transmission  of  typhus  and  recurrent  fever,  both  of  which 
are  quite  common  in  Jerusalem. 

The  diseases  most  prevalent  in  Jerusalem  are  malaria,  trachoma, 
dysentery,  recurrent  fever,  and  typhus  fever.  About  40  per  cent,  of 
the  inhabitants  are  infected  with  malaria;  while  60  per  cent,  of  the 
school  children  had  trachoma  before  the  American  Zionist  Woman's 
Society,  Hadassah,  began  its  work  in  the  schools.  Dysentery  is  a 
common  ailment,  especially  prevalent  during  the  summer  months. 
And  the  sad  part  is  that  all  these  diseases  are  easily  preventable. 
It  is  only  under  the  shiftless  Turks  that  a  city  of  70,000  to  80,000 
people  could  be  permitted  to  go  without  a  water  supply,  without 
proper  disposal  of  human  waste,  without  provision  for  collection  of 
garbage,  without  any  attempt  to  enforce  vaccination  against  smallpox 
or  isolation  of  contagious  diseases.  It  is  this  indifference  to  com- 
munity hygiene  and  general  sanitation  that  is  responsible  for  at  least 
85  per  cent,  of  the  morbidity  of  Jerusalem. 

Conditions  in  Other  Cities 

The  problems  of  the  other  cities  of  Palestine  are  much  the  same 
as  those  of  Jerusalem.  In  the  order  of  their  importance  they  are 
(1)  a  pure  and  adequate  water  supply;  (2)  proper  sewerage  systems 
for  disposing  of  the  human  and  animal  waste;  (3)  modern  hospital 
facilities  and  hygienic  institutes,  and  (4)  modern  well  ventilated 
dwellings. 

Most  of  the  cities  of  Palestine  and  Syria  depend  on  the  cistern 
for  their  water  for  all  purposes.  The  shortcomings  and  dangers  of 
such  a  supply  have  been  mentioned  above.  None  of  the  cities  of 
Palestine,  with  the  exception  of  Tel  Aviv,  has  a  modern  sewage  dis- 
posal system.  The  primitive  pit  or  vault  privy  prevails.  Before  the 
war  there  were  several  moderately  good  hospitals  in  Jerusalem,  and 
Jaffa,  Haifa,  Safed  and  the  other  large  cities  had  at  least  one  hospital 
each.  Most  of  them  were  either  mission  or  charity  hospitals  poorly 
equipped,  with  only  a  few  beds  and,  at  best,  inadequate  for  the  needs 
of  a  community  with  a  high  morbidity.  Community  control  of  the  gen- 
eral hygienic  conditions  was  entirely  lacking.    Even  larger  cities  such  as 

187 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Jerusalem,  Haifa,  Jaffa,  and  Tiberias  had  no  Public  Health  Department 
for  the  diagnosis  of  infectious  diseases,  control  of  epidemics,  regula- 
tion of  the  handling  and  purity  of  food,  etc.  Finally,  paradoxical  as 
it  may  sound,  there  is  a  real  housing  problem  in  all  the  Palestinian 
cities.  The  streets  are  as  a  rule  narrow  and  crooked.  The  houses  are 
built  close  together  with  the  windows  facing  either  a  dark  alley  or  a 
dark  court.  They  are  usually  only  two  to  three  stories  high,  but  are 
poorly  built  and  greatly  congested.  A  family  of  four  or  six  may  be 
crowded  into  two  small  ill  ventilated  rooms. 

Conditions  in  the  Villages 

In  contrast  with  the  miserable  condition  of  the  cities  we  have 
those  of  the  new  Jewish  villages.  In  most  of  these  villages  good  fresh 
water  is  obtained  from  pump  wells.  The  houses,  if  not  beautiful,  are 
substantial,  clean  and  healthful.  The  free  open  air  life  is  also  con- 
ducive to  better  health  and  increased  vigor.  The  problem  of  the 
Jewish  villages,  particularly  those  near  Jaffa  (Rishon  le-Zion,  Rehobot, 
etc.),  and  those  surrounding  the  Sea  of  Tiberias  is  one  of  location. 
The  low-lying  marshlands  are  breeding  places  for  the  malarial 
mosquitoes.  In  all  these  settlements  malaria  is  more  or  less  common ; 
in  some  it  is  as  prevalent  as  in  Jerusalem  or  even  more  so.  Attempts 
have  been  made  to  drain  these  marshes  by  planting  large  numbers  of 
eucalyptus  trees,  but  this  hardly  scratched  the  surface  of  the  problem, 
affecting  only  limited  areas.  The  real  and  radical  solution  lies  in 
extensive  ditching  and  oiling.  By  proper  drainage,  the  entire  coastal 
plain  would  not  only  be  rid  of  the  pest,  but  would  be  converted  into  a 
healthful,  fertile  region. 

A  serious  problem  that  confronts  some  of  the  larger  Jewish 
villages  is  the  Arabian  part  of  the  population.  These  natives  live  in  a 
most  primitive  manner.  Their  dwellings  consist  usually  of  a  house  of 
a  single  room,  made  of  clay,  without  any  windows  and  with  but  one 
low  hole  in  one  of  the  walls.  This  opening  performs  the  triple  function 
of  door,  window,  and  chimney.  In  this  hut  of  one  room,  the  whole 
family  lives,  cooks,  eats,  and  sleeps.  The  effect  of  such  an  unsanitary 
mode  of  life  on  their  health  is  self-evident.  In  addition  to  this,  their 
superstitions  and  the  Moslem  fatalism  resist  any  attempts  at  preven- 
tion of  pre-ordained  ills.  These  people  are  an  ever-present  menace  to 
the  health  of  the  rest  of  the  Jewish  village. 

Health  Agencies  in  Palestine 

It  is  difficult  in  this  period  of  transition  to  say  anything  definite 
regarding  the  sanitary  institutions  of  Palestine.     Some  of  those  that 

188 


THE  PROBLEMS  OF  SANITATION  IN  PALESTINE 

existed  before  the  war  have  disappeared.  Temporary  organizations 
sent  by  various  relief  agencies  have  been  at  work  since  the  British 
occupation.  Two  institutions,  both  due  to  American  initiative,  should, 
however,  be  given  first  rank.  These  are  (1)  the  Straus  Health  Bureau 
and  (2)  the  Hadassah  Nurses'  Settlement  House. 

The  Straus  Health  Bureau  in  Jerusalem  was  organized  by  the 
personal  efforts  of  Mr.  Nathan  Straus  in  1912.  A  complete  health 
department  was  established  where  hygienic,  laboratory,  diagnosis,  and 
vaccine  and  serum  work  was  carried  on.  A  Pasteur  Institute  was  also 
established.  Dr.  Briinn  was  put  at  the  head  of  the  Hygienic  Depart- 
ment and  promptly  attacked  the  acute  problem  of  malaria.  Dr.  Gold- 
berg had  charge  of  the  Laboratory  and  Dr.  Behan  directed  the  Pasteur 
Institute.  The  war  interrupted  some  of  their  efforts,  but  the  work  was 
continued  in  part  even  under  the  greatest  difficulties.  The  need  of  a 
well  equipped,  properly  organized  Health  Department  was  never  more 
urgent  than  now. 

The  Nurses'  Settlement  was  also  established  in  1912.  Two  Ameri- 
can trained  nurses,  Miss  Rose  Kaplan  and  Miss  Rachel  Landy,  were 
sent  to  Jerusalem  by  the  Hadassah,  and  with  true  feminine  instinct 
they  devoted  themselves  to  the  vital  questions  of  child  welfare. 
Maternity  care  and  trachoma  treatment  among  school  children  were 
their  chief  fields  of  endeavor.  In  the  short  time  before  and  during  the 
trying  years  of  the  war  these  nurses,  in  addition  to  their  duties  as 
visiting  nurses,  supervised  the  work  of  six  midwives,  and,  under  the 
supervision  of  Dr.  Albert  Ticho  of  the  Le-Ma-an  Zion  Eye  Clinic, 
gave  treatments  for  trachoma  in  19  Jewish  schools  with  over  3,000 
children,  and  as  a  result  of  their  efforts  the  incidence  of  the  disease 
among  these  children  was  reduced  from  27.9  per  cent,  to  14.11 
per  cent. 

After  the  two  nurses  were  forced  to  leave  the  country,  a  Jewish 
woman  physician  of  Jerusalem,  Dr.  Helene  Kagan,  took  over  the  mid- 
wifery supervision  and,  when  the  Settlement  was  closed,  opened  for 
Hadassah  a  clinic  for  women  and  children  which  functioned  through- 
out the  war.  The  trachoma  work  was  also  continued  by  probationers 
trained  by  the  nurses. 

Prior  to  the  war,  there  were  in  Jerusalem  four  Jewish  hospitals, 
and  about  eleven  of  other  nationalities.  Most  of  them  were  forced 
to  close  their  doors  either  for  lack  of  funds  or  other  reasons  until 
the  American  Zionist  Medical  Unit  arrived. v  With  the  co-operation 
of  the  British,  the  Unit  refurnished  one  of  the  old  hospitals  with 
100   beds,    opened   a   clinic   and   a   training  school    for   thirty   nurses, 

189 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

and  attempted  to  give  the  most  needed  medical  aid.  Sections  of  the 
Unit  went  to  various  parts  of  the  land,  especially  where  epidemics 
were  raging.  Definite  information  regarding  the  existing  conditions 
is  not  as  yet  available.  One  thing,  however,  seems  certain,  and  that  is 
that  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  health  we  shall  have  to  start  anew 
and  build  from  the  bottom.  If  we  are  to  start  anew  it  will  be  necessary 
to  formulate  a  broad  plan.  Such  a  plan  should  have  as  a  basis  the 
modern  principle  of  prevention  instead  of  the  old  doctrine  of  merely 
healing.  Medical  relief  and  cure  are  necessarily  of  primary  importance 
when  the  nature  and  mode  of  transmission  of  a  given  disease  are 
unknown.  As  soon,  however,  as  we  obtain  definite  knowledge  regard- 
ing these  facts,  prevention  becomes  of  primary  importance,  and  healing 
and  relief  take  a  subsidiary  place.  Especially  in  an  undeveloped 
country  broad  preventive  measures  are  essential  in  order  to  render 
the  country  safe  for  the  pioneers  who  come  to  blaze  the  trail,  and  in 
order  to  make  it  habitable  for  the  masses  of  immigrants  who  follow 
them  as  settlers.  It  is  hoped  that  the  American  Medical  Unit,  with 
its  body  of  experts  and  specialists,  may  not  only  render  temporary 
relief,  but  may  lay  the  foundation  for  a  national  system  of  Public 
Health. 

References: 

Conquered  by  Dirt  and  Disease,  by  A.  R.  Hoover,  The  Survey,  1917-18,  No.  38, 
p.  467.  Hygiene  and  Diseases  in  Modern  and  Biblical  Times,  by  E.  W.  G.  Master- 
man,  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Quarterly,  1918,  p.  156.  Tropical  Diseases  in 
Palestine,  by  E.  W.  G.  Masterman,  Journal  of  Hygiene,  1913,  No.  13,  p.  49.  Weather 
Controls,  by  R.  D.  C.  Ward,  Scientific  Monthly,  April,  1918.  Hadassah  Bulletins  and 
Reports. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  work  of  Hadassah  in  Palestine.    Jewish  hospitals  in  Palestine. 


190 


CHAPTER  XXIX 
THE     RESOURCES     OF     PALESTINE* 

The  Present  Condition  of  Palestine 

The  possibilities  of  Palestine  cannot  be  gauged  by  the  economic 
situation  of  the  country  as  we  know  it.  Of  the  three  principal  factors 
which  go  to  make  up  a  country's  prosperity — natural  resources,  man 
power,  and  a  benevolent  administration — Palestine  had  only  the  first ; 
and  that  is  useless  without  the  quickening  influence  on  the  other  two. 
However,  despite  the  fact  that  the  native  population  did  nothing,  or 
practically  nothing  to  exploit  the  wealth  of  the  land ;  despite  the 
restrictions  put  upon  the  more  enterprising  elements  of  the  popula- 
tion by  the  Turkish  administration,  the  remarkable  achievements  of 
the  Jewish  and  other  settlers  give  one  at  least  a  clue  as  to  what  may 
be  expected  in  the  future. 

An  Agricultural  Country — Its  Products 

Nature  has  destined  Palestine  to  be  an  agricultural  country.  There 
is  practically  no  part  of  the  land  which  cannot  be  rendered  productive 
by  the  application  of  such  methods  as  have  served  to  reclaim  vast  arid 
regions  in  the  West  of  the  United  States.  We  are  accustomed  to  think 
of  Palestine  as  the  land  of  the  olive  and  the  grape.  However,  it  is 
no  less  the  land  of  wheat  and  barley,  sesame  and  sorghum,  alfalfa 
and  clover,  fruits  and  vegetables,  cotton,  sugar  and  tobacco,  stock- 
farming,  apiculture,  and  poultry-raising. 

The  Olive 

The  olive  and  the  grape,  it  is  true,  take  precedence  over  other 
branches  of  Palestinian  production.  Since  time  immemorial  the 
inhabitants  of  the  land  have  prepared  olive-oil  by  means  of  primitive 
hand-presses.  This  oil  is  used  for  cookery  and  in  soap-making,  the 
residue  serving  for  fuel  and  in  the  manufacture  of  Halvah  (an  Oriental 
sweet  meat). 

*By  Nellie  Straus. 

191 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

The  Grape 

In  recent  years  the  grape  has  become  peculiarly  prominent  in 
agriculture  and  industry  as  a  result  of  the  activities  of  Baron  de  Roth- 
schild, who  constructed  spacious  wine  cellars  in  the  Jewish  villages  of 
Rishon  le-Zion  (Judaea)  and  Zichron  Ya-acob  (Samaria)  and 
expended  money  lavishly  in  the  planting  of  extensive  vineyards.  This 
was  in  the  eighties  and  nineties,  before  a  judicious  distribution  of 
agricultural  enterprises  had  been  evolved.  Time  showed  that  it  was 
precarious  to  depend  on  viticulture  alone,  but  wiser  to  combine  it 
with  cereal  cultivation,  orchards,  poultry-raising,  etc.,  in  order  to 
insure  the  steady  well-being  of  the  farmer.  It  must  not  be  supposed, 
however,  that  Baron  de  Rothschild's  contribution  to  Palestinian  agri- 
culture proved  a  failure.  On  the  contrary,  the  vintners  of  Rishon  le- 
Zion,  Zichron  Ya-acob,  and  Rosh  Pinah  have  succeeded  not  only  in 
producing  wines  and  liquors  of  a  superior  quality,  but  moreover  in 
disposing  of  them  to  advantage  in  Egyptian  and  European  markets. 
In  1915,  over  a  million  gallons  of  wine  were  exported  by  the  Societe 
Co-operative  Vigneronne  des  Grandes  Caves  de  Richon  le-Zion  et 
Zichron  Ya-acob. 

Grain  Cultivation 

Grain  cultivation  has  been  engaged  in  by  the  Arab  population 
rather  than  by  the  Jewish  farmers,  although  it  has  been  introduced  in 
increasing  measure  in  the  Jewish  agricultural  villages  of  Samaria  and 
Galilee  as  well  as  in  certain  parts  of  Judaea,  for  instance  the  village 
of  Gederah.  Gaza  is  the  center  of  barley-raising,  and  in  good  years 
considerable  quantities  are  exported,  mainly  to  England.  In  the  last 
decades  the  rapid  growth  of  Jerusalem  has  made  it  necessary  to  import 
wheat  in  addition  to  that  received  from  Hauran.  This  is  not  due  to  the 
limited  capacity  for  wheat  production  of  Hauran,  but  only  to  its 
untilled  state.  As  a  matter  of  fact  Hauran  produced  the  finest  wheat 
of  the  Roman  Empire,  and  its  estimated  yield  exceeds  the  needs  even 
of  a  populous  Palestine.  The  fruits  and  vegetables  of  Palestine  are 
the  boast  of  the  inhabitant  and  the  delight  of  the  visitor.  Nowhere 
on  earth,  they  claim,  are  such  melons  and  cucumbers  to  be  found.  The 
Haifa  oranges  are  famous  for  their  juiciness  and  fine  flavor.  In  the 
Judaean  villages  of  Rishon  le-Zion,  Petah  Tikvah,  Rehovot,  etc.,  the 
orange  groves  have  proved  the  most  remunerative  type  of  agricul- 
ture, paying  over  ten  per  cent,  on  the  invested  capital.  In  1912,  for 
instance,  about  400,000  crates  of  oranges  were  exported  by  the  Jewish 
planters    (who,  like  the  vintners,  are  banded  together  in  co-operative 

192 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  PALESTINE 

associations).  Lemons  are  also  grown,  as  well  as  apricots,  figs,  dates, 
pomegranates,  St.  John's  bread,  etc.  Special  mention  should  be  made 
of  the  almond  plantations,  which  have  brought  prosperity  to  numbers 
of  colonists  of  late  years. 

Stock-farming  and  Grazing 

The  juxtaposition  of  stock-farming  and  apiculture  recalls  the 
Biblical  promise  of  "milk  and  honey".  What  could  be  defined  as 
animal  industry,  if  it  were  carried  on  in  a  less  primitive  fashion,  is  the 
main  pursuit  of  the  country,  especially  east  of  the  Jordan.  The  herds 
of  goats  which  have  contributed  so  largely  to  the  deforestation  of 
Palestine  supply  the  peasants  and  the  wandering  tribes  with  milk, 
hides,  etc.  The  Bedouin  of  Trans jordania,  in  addition  to  their  herds 
of  goats,  raise  cattle,  sheep,  and  camels  in  large  numbers,  bringing 
their  products  to  the  Syrian  markets  for  sale  and  barter.  The  Jewish 
farmers  have  not  yet  accustomed  themselves  to  stock-farming*  as 
such,  but  in  the  German  Templar  colonies  dairying  proved  a  highly 
remunerative  pursuit".  Apiculture  and  poultry-raising  have  not  yet 
been  undertaken  on  a  large  scale,  but  will  undoubtedly  become  an 
important  factor  in  the  system  of  intensive  agriculture  which  will  be 
carried  into  effect  in  Western  Palestine. 

Tobacco,  Cotton,  Sugar-cane,  Castor-oil,  etc. 

There  has  been  little  actual  achievement  in  the  way  of  the  three 
commercial  crops  which  could  add  materially  to  the  wealth  of  the 
country.  Tobacco  is  known  to  thrive  in  sections  of  Palestine,  but 
could  not  be  cultivated  heretofore  because  of  the  Turkish  monopoly. 
Cotton  was  grown  along  the  coastal  plain  over  half  a  century  ago, 
and  only  lack  of  capital  and  transportation  facilities  have  prevented 
the  isolated  ventures  with  both  sugar-cane  and  sugar  beets  from 
developing.  Other  agricultural  possibilities  are  the  cultivation  of 
rice  and  papyrus  in  the  marshes  of  Lake  Huleh  and  of  the  castor  oil 
bush  in  the  Negeb.  If  one  includes  forms  of  agriculture  which  have 
not  yet  been  experimented  with,  the  enumeration  can  be  continued 
indefinitely,  so  varied  are  the  Palestinian  soil  and  climate. 

Industries  Based  on  Products 

The  industries  of  Palestine  have,  of  necessity,  been  mainly  of  an 
agricultural  nature.    Oil,  soap,  alcoholic  beverages,  lime,  flour,  volatile 

*  There  are  model  dairies  and  chicken-farms  in  the  colony  of  Ben-Shamen, 
established  by  the  Jewish  National  Fund. 

193 

* 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

oils  and  perfumes,  pottery,  devotional  articles  of  olive-wood  and 
mother-of-pearl — these  have  been  the  chief  products  of  Palestinian 
industry.  It  is  a  noteworthy  fact  that  with  the  exception  of  oil  pro- 
duction and  milling,  these  few  industries  have  been  pursued  by  the 
immigrant  population,  especially  by  the  European  Jews.  Wine-mak- 
ing has  brought  with  it  the  production  of  cream  of  tartar,  and  an 
abortive  attempt — which  should,  however,  succeed  under  more  aus- 
picious circumstances — to  establish  a  glass  factory  in  Tanturah.  Other 
industries  introduced  by  the  Jewish  immigrants  are  the  manufacture 
of  building  materials  and  the  construction  of  barrels  and  crates  (the 
latter  of  eucalyptus  wood)  for  the  wine  and  orange  trade.  The 
Bezalel  School  in  Jerusalem  has  become  a  center  for  arts  and  crafts 
work — carpet-weaving,  lace-making,  wood-carving,  etc. 

The  agricultural  industries  of  the  future,  besides  developing  along 
the  same  lines  as  heretofore,  will  follow  directly  upon  the  growth 
and  expansion  of  husbandry.  The  luxuriant  fruits  and  vegetables  of 
the  coastal  plain  call  for  the  introduction  of  canning  and  dessicating. 
There  should  be  sugar  refineries,  macaroni-making,  cotton  mills  and 
cigarette  factories.  The  stock-farms  of  Transjordania  will  bring  with 
them  the  establishment  of  dairies,  tanneries,  etc.  Possibly  the  silk 
industry  will  become  popular,  although  of  late  years  it  has  declined 
in  Northern  Syria. 

Mineral  Resources 

But  Palestine  has  other  resources  than  those  which  come  under 
the  heading  of  agriculture.  Its  mineral  deposits  have  not  yet  been 
determined  with  any  degree  of  accuracy.  Scientific  explorers  maintain 
that  there  is  neither  coal  nor  iron  south  of  the  Lebanon.  However,  we 
may  expect  to  find  important  oil  deposits  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  the  waters  of  which  contain  various  substances  of  industrial  value. 
There  are  phosphate  mines  near  the  city  of  Es-Salt.  Throughout 
Palestine  limestone  quarries  are  to  be  found,  as  well  as  a  few  marble 
quarries  and  clay-pits,  the  last  especially  in  Judaea.  Of  peculiar 
importance  industrially  are  the  mineral  springs  of  Tiberias  and  Cal- 
lirrhoe,  with  medicinal  properties  which  have  been  famous  since 
antiquity. 

Fishery 

Fishery  can  also  add  to  the  wealth  of  the  country.  Not  only  are 
the  waters  of  the  coast  and  of  the  Lake  of  Tiberias  able  to  supply  the 
country  with  fish,  but,  if  hatcheries  and  preserves  are  established, 

194 


THE  RESOURCES  OF  PALESTINE 

there  will  probably  be  a  sufficient  quantity  to  warrant  the  introduction 
of  smoking,  salting,  and  canning.  The  Bay  of  Acre  also  contains 
sponges. 

Forestry 

The  forest  resources  of  Palestine  are  practically  non-existent,  not 
because  the  land  is  barren  of  trees  by  nature  (cf.  the  Bible  and  medi- 
eval history)  but  through  the  devastation  of  many  wars  and  the 
improvidence  and  wastefulness  of  the  Arab  population,  which  has 
hewn  down  the  trees  for  fuel  and  permitted  its  herds  to  destroy  the 
saplings  and  underbrush.  If  once  afforestation  is  undertaken  on  a 
scientific  basis  the  country  will  gain  tremendously,  economically  and 
aesthetically.  Not  only  does  the  presence  of  forests  prevent  the 
encroachment  of  the  sand-dunes,  but  the  need  for  both  timber  and 
fuel  will  become  increasingly  great.  It  should  be  remarked  that  the 
Jewish  farmers  introduced  Australian  eucalypti  in  order  to  drain  the 
marshes.  Charles  Netter,  of  the  Mikveh  Israel  School,  first  introduced 
the  tree  in  Palestine.  These  trees  have  already  grown  up  into  rich 
forests.     They  are  known  to  the  Arabs  as  "Jews'  trees". 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  moreover,  that  the  industries  of  Pales- 
tine need  consist  solely  of  the  finishing  of  domestic  products.  Pales- 
tine has  a  large  Hinterland,  whence  raw  products  can  be  imported. 

The  Tourist  "Industry" 

The  influx  of  tourists,  too,  which  will  be  greater  than  ever  before, 
thanks  to  improved  traveling  arrangements  and  hotel  accommodations, 
will  cause  numbers  of  new  industries  to  grow  up,  and  will  prove  a 
source  of  wealth  to  the  country. 

What  the  Country  Requires 

Let  once  an  energetic  population  be  permitted  to  develop  Pales- 
tine under  favorable  political  and  economic  conditions,  and  there  is 
every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  land  will  prosper.  But  it  will  take 
well-planned  and  well-directed  efforts  to  reclaim  it  from  centuries  of 
neglect  and  abuse.  There  is  urgent  need  for  irrigation,  drainage, 
afforestation,  terracing  and  fertilizing ;  for  the  clearing  away  of  stones 
on  the  hillsides  and  sand-dunes  along  the  coast.  The  introduction  of 
industry  will  demand  first  of  all  an  adequate  supply  of  electricity. 
Several  experts  assure  us  that  the  falls  of  the  Jordan  and  the  Yarmuk 
can  be  made  to  provide  all  Palestine  with  electricity.    This,  as  well  as 

195 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

adequate  transportation  and  storage  facilities,  the  importation  of 
up-to-date  machinery  and  implements,  and  a  scientific  distribution  of 
agricultural  pursuits,  are  only  a  few  of  the  many  tasks  which  confront 
the  administration  of  Palestine. 

References: 

Syria,  by  Arthur  Ruppin,  pp.  3-54.    Jewish  Colonization  in  Palestine,  by  Jacob 
Ettinger. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Forestry:     Its  relation  to  climate  and  health.     Cereal  culture  and  fruit  culture 
in  Palestine. 


196 


CHAPTER  XXX 

COMMERCE     (INCLUDING    TRANSPORTATION     AND    FINANCE)* 

Oriental  Business  Methods 

In  order  to  visualize  the  commerce  of  Palestine  as  it  existed  up 
to  the  present  time,  it  is  necessary  to  have  some  understanding  of 
Oriental  business  methods.  Business  in  Asia  Minor  is  not  conducted 
as  it  is  in  New  York  or  even  in  the  smallest  American  town.  There 
are  neither  stock  exchanges  nor  offices  in  our  sense  of  the  term.  To 
sell  any  commodity  for  a  fixed  price,  without  bargaining,  is  unknown. 
The  Arab  merchant  serves  his  customer  with  coffee,  converses  with 
him  for  hours,  sometimes  even  for  days,  on  abstract  matters,  and 
finally  the  deal  is  closed  without  the  aid  of  stenographer,  dictaphone, 
or  any  of  the  other  complexities  of  our  Western  business  life. 

However,  the  absence  of  business  mechanism  has  made  trade 
exceedingly  complicated,  especially  for  the  uninitiated  Westerner. 
For  instance,  despite  various  rulings  of  the  Turkish  Government, 
there  was  no  uniform  currency.  A  lira  was  worth  141  piastres  in 
Jaffa,  and  255  piastres  in  Gaza. 

Modern  Banks  and  Credit  in  Palestine 

It  is  only  of  recent  years  that  several  banking  houses  (such 
as  the  Banque  Imperiale  Ottomane  and  the  Credit  Lyonnais)  have 
established  branches  in  Palestine.  Of  particular  interest  to  us  is  the 
Anglo-Palestine  Bank,  which  entered  upon  its  activities  in  1903. 
(See  Ch.  XL)  The  Anglo-Palestine  Bank  has  been  an  important 
factor  in  the  economic  development  of  the  land,  especially  through 
its  co-operative  loan  associations  and  its  system  of  long  term  credits 
for  farmers,  Arabs  as  well  as  Jews.  At  the  beginning  of  the  war  it 
was  the  Anglo-Palestine  Bank  which,  by  its  prompt  action  in  issuing 
checks,  averted  a  panic  when  the  moratorium  was  declared.  Closed 
by  the  Turkish  Government,  it  re-entered  upon  its  activities  with  the 
British  occupation  of  Judaea,  and  is  now  playing  an  important  role 
in  Palestine,  issuing  currency,  etc.     The  Anglo-Palestine  Bank  has 

*  By  Nellie  Straus. 

197 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

eight   branches   at  the   present   writing.      Forty-five   co-operative   loan 
associations  are  affiliated  with  it. 

The  introduction  of  such  loan  facilities  should  be  particularly 
beneficial  to  the  Arab  population,  for  up  to  now  it  has  been  at  the 
mercy  of  usurers.  The  Arab  money-lender  charges  the  peasant 
exorbitant  rates  of  interest,  and  makes  away  with  his  herds  and 
even  with  his  house  when  he  is  unable  to  pay.  This  abuse,  added 
to  the  heavy  taxes  levied  by  the  Turkish  Government,  and  the  pre- 
vailing system  of  land  tenure  (most  of  the  Fellaheen  suffering  under 
the  curse  of  absentee  landlordism),  has  made  it  literally  impossible 
for  the  native  population  to  do  more  than  scrape  together  the  barest 
livelihood. 

Insurance 

Even  more  recent  than  the  banks  is  the  insurance  agent,  who  has 
not  done  a  flourishing  business  in  Palestine  thus  far.  Fire  insurance 
is  not  popular,  because,  thanks  to  the  stone  and  brick  houses  of  the 
land,  fires  are  a  rare  occurrence.  Life  insurance,  which  appeals  to 
the  Jewish  population,  does  not  accord  with  Moslem  fatalism. 
Co-operative  cattle  insurance  has  been  introduced  in  the  Jewish  colonies. 

Lack  of  Transportation  and  Storage  Facilities 

The  greatest  hindrance  in  the  way  of  commercial  development 
was  the  lack  of  transportation  and  storage  facilities.  Before  the  war, 
the  road  system  of  Palestine  was  inadequate  and  extremely  poor, 
for  the  road  tax  levied  by  the  Government  was  never  devoted  to 
its  ostensible  purpose.  The  railway  system — if  it  could  be  dignified 
by  that  name — consisted  of  the  Jaffa-Jerusalem  line,  operated  by  a 
French  Company  since  1892,  and  of  the  western  arm  of  the  Hedjaz 
Railway  (the  Pilgrims'  Line  running  from  Damascus  to  Medina  and 
Mecca),  branching  off  at  el  Mezerib  and  reaching  to  Haifa. 

New  Strategic  Railways 

However,  the  war  left  Palestine  a  splendid  legacy.  The  Turks 
under  German  tutelage  and  the  British  vied  with  each  other  in  con- 
structing excellent  roads  and  a  network  of  railways  for  strategic 
purposes.  At  present,  it  is  possible  to  go  from  Cairo  to  Jerusalem 
by  rail.  From  Jerusalem  one  can  travel  to  Gaza,  to  Beersheba,  to 
Haifa,  and  even  to  Beirut  and  Damascus.  Soon  there  will  be  a  direct 
line  between  Jaffa  and  Haifa.  Lydda  (southeast  of  Jaffa)  and  Afuleh 
(Merhaviah)  in  the  Plain  of  Esdraelon,  have  become  important  junc- 

198 


COMMERCE  AND  TRANSPORTATION 

tions.  The  Hedjaz  Railway  has  thrown  out  another  branch,  to  Es 
Salt.  When  Jerusalem  is  connected  with  Es  Salt,  and  Akabah  with 
Ma'an,  and  especially  if  a  route  is  complete  from  Palestine  to  Con- 
stantinople, the  needs  of  inland  transportation  will  be  on  the  way  to 
being  filled,  and  a  tremendous  impetus  will  have  been  given  to 
industry  and  commerce. 

Harbors 

The  railways  alone,  however,  are  useless  without  proper  shipping 
facilities,  and  these  will  depend  first  of  all  on  the  construction  of 
harbors.  Plans  have  already  been  made  for  good  harbors  in  Haifa  and 
Jaffa,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  Gaza  and  Akabah  may  follow  in  rapid 
succession. 

Even  when  steamers  had  to  stop  a  mile  out  at  sea  in  order  to 
avoid  the  reefs  at  Jaffa,  numbers  of  lines — French,  Austrian,  Italian, 
English,  German,  Russian,  Greek,  etc. — included  this  harbor,  and  to  a 
smaller  extent,  Haifa,  in  their  service.  This  was  partly  in  order  to 
transport  the  large  numbers  of  tourists  and  pilgrims,  and  partly  for 
freight  purposes. 

Need  of  Storage  Warehouses 

With  the  construction  of  harbors  should  come  storage  ware- 
houses, especially  for  grain.  Up  to  now  the  magnificent  wheat  of 
Hauran  lay  on  open  platforms,  exposed  to  dust  and  rain,  until  it  was 
transported  westward  either  by  camel  or  by  train. 

Import  and  Export 

Under  these  unfavorable  circumstances,  added  to  the  difficulties 
standing  in  the  way  of  agriculture  and  industries,  it  is  small  wonder 
that  the  commerce  of  Palestine  should  have  remained  stagnant,  con- 
sisting for  the  most  part  of  the  import  of  necessities  and  the  export 
of  superfluous  produce,  such  as  grain,  both  conducted  in  an  unorgan- 
ized and  casual  manner.  Yet  since  1886 — that  is,  during  the  period  of 
the  new  Jewish  immigration — foreign  trade,  via  the  port  of  Jaffa,  has 
multiplied  by  five,  and  it  has  more  than  doubled  since  1903.  In  1912, 
it  totalled  over  $9,300,000.  Imports  exceeded  exports  by  over 
$1,575,000.  The  leading  imports  were  foodstuffs  (such  as  sugar,  rice, 
coffee,  tea),  coal,  oil,  paper,  glass,  porcelain,  wood  and  other  building 
materials,  iron  and  hardware,  motor  engines,  clothing,  chemicals,  etc. 
Among  the  exports  were  oranges,  olive-oil  and  soap,  wine  and  other 
beverages,  almonds,  wheat,  barley,  etc.     It  is  interesting  to  note  that 

199 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

whereas  wheat  was  exported,  flour  was  imported,  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  milling  facilities  did  not  permit  of  the  production  of  fine  flour 
for  pastry. 

These  articles  came  mostly  from  Russia:  flour,  sugar,  alcohol, 
oil.  England:  coal,  cotton  goods.  Austria:  sugar,  timber,  ready- 
made  clothing.    France :  cement,  tiles.    And  India :  wool,  rice,  indigo. 

The  greater  part  of  the  oranges  exported  from  Jaffa  by  the  two 
Jewish  syndicates,  Pardess  and  Merkaz,  and  by  Arab  dealers,  were 
sent  to  Liverpool.  They  were  packed  in  crates  containing  144  oranges 
each.  In  1913-1914  the  two  syndicates  exported  about  380,000  cases. 
Their  methods  of  sale  and  distribution  are  worthy  of  note.  The  name 
of  the  individual  planter  is  marked  on  the  case,  so  that  the  net  pro- 
ceeds may  be  distributed  according  to  quality  as  well  as  to  quantity. 
The  syndicates  have  obtained  reduced  shipping  rates,  and  greatly 
increased  the  profits  of  their  members,  besides  educating  them  in  the 
use  of  agricultural  methods  and  implements. 

The  wine  exported  from  the  Jewish  villages  is  similarly  disposed 
of  by  a  co-operative  association  of  vintners,  whose  distributing  agency 
is  the  Carmel  Wine  Company,  with  branches  in  Egypt,  Europe,  and 
America.  In  1913-1914  the  export  totalled  875,920  gallons  of  wines, 
cognacs,  and  liquors. 

Olive-oil  soap  was  also  exported  in  inconsiderable  quantities,  as 
were  arts  and  crafts  articles  produced  at  the  Bezalel  School  in  Jeru- 
salem, and  devotional  articles  fashioned  by  the  Christian  communities 
in  Jerusalem,  Bethlehem,  and  Nazareth,  of  which  large  quantities  were 
bought  and  taken  out  of  the  land  by  pilgrims  and  tourists. 

Palestine  has  also  its  inland  trade,  including  that  between  the 
settled  and  the  nomad  population.  Whereas  the  Jewish  settlements  have 
numerous  stores,  a  single  store  suffices  for  a  whole  group  of  Arab 
villages,  so  few  and  so  primitive  are  the  wants  of  the  Fellah.  The 
wandering  tribes  bring  their  live-stock  and  their  produce  (wool,  hides, 
cheeses,  etc.)  to  various  centers,  in  particular  Gaza,  and  barter  them 
for  coffee,  sugar,  and  tobacco.  The  wheat  of  Trans jordania  was 
brought  to  Jerusalem  by  camel  until  the  opening  of  the  Haifa  branch 
of  the  Hedjaz  Railway;  since  then  there  has  been  a  tendency  to  send 
it  to  Haifa  for  export.  Barley  was  shipped  from  Gaza  to  England, 
where  it  is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  whiskey.  Sesame  is  also 
exported. 

A  Forecast 

It  is  apparent  that  Palestinian  commerce  must  be  built  up  from 

200 


COMMERCE  AND  FINANCE 

the  very  foundations.  Its  shape  and  dimensions  will  depend  on 
external  as  well  as  internal  conditions.  A  quickly  growing  population 
with  European  standards  of  living,  devoted  to  agriculture  and  industry, 
will  make  the  import  and  export  business  grow  by  leaps  and  bounds. 
But  the  commerce  of  Palestine  may  become  vaster,  even  world- 
embracing,  if  only  the  most  is  made  of  the  situation  of  the  country. 
Through  it  may  flow  great  quantities  of  raw  products  and  finished 
articles,  west  and  east,  north  and  south.  It  may  become  commercially 
the  heart  of  Asia  Minor,  the  halfway-house  between  the  east  and 
southeast  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  north  and  west  on  the  other. 
Given  an  energetic  population  and  favorable  political  conditions,  it 
may  become,  through  its  commercial  activity,  a  preponderant  factor 
in  the  awakening  of  the  Orient. 

References: 

Syria,  by  Arthur  Euppin,  pp.  55-90. 
Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  railroad  systems  of  Palestine.    Opportunities  for  the  individual  in  Palestine. 


201 


CHAPTER  XXXI 
JEWISH    EDUCATION    IN    PALESTINE 

Jewish  Nationalism  and  Education 

When  the  Jewish  people  lost  their  national  soil,  their  substitute 
was  a  national  education.  Hence  with  the  Jews  education  has  not 
been  one  of  the  issues  of  national  life.  It  has  itself  been  the  heart 
and  center  of  national  existence.  So  one  cannot  speak  of  Jewish 
education  growing  up  among  the  Jewish  settlers  of  Palestine,  because 
Jewish  education  was  the  cause  of  their  settlement. 

The  Religious  Schools — Hedarim,  Talmud  Torahs,  Yeshibot 

For  centuries — ever  since  the  dispersion — Jews  have  gone  to 
Palestine  to  study  there.  The  purpose  of  Jewish  settlement  was  to 
keep  aflame  the  torch  of  Jewish  learning.  Hence  the  Old  Settlement 
is  conditioned  by  its  schools,  and  the  Halukkah  itself  subsidizes  its 
pauper  communities  in  order  that  they  may  spend  their  lives  in  the 
Yeshibot  of  the  Holy  Land.  The  old  system  of  education  is  wholly 
religious,  consisting  only  of  Bible,  Talmud  and  later  Rabbinic  litera- 
ture. No  attention  whatever  is  paid  to  such  matters  as  health  and 
hygiene,  fresh  air,  play,  exercise,  mathematics,  handicrafts  or 
languages.  The  language  in  which  Bible  and  Talmud  are  taught  is 
almost  never  Hebrew,  but  Yiddish  or  Ladino  (the  Spanish  dialect  of 
the  Sephardic  Jews)  or  Arabic.  In  the  Hedarim  and  the  Talmud 
Torah  School — the  elementary  religious  schools — the  teaching  is 
unsystematic,  carried  on  by  Rabbis  whose  chief  qualification  often 
seems  to  be  lack  of  qualification  for  anything  else;  the  rooms  are 
badly  equipped  and  usually  unsanitary,  the  hours  are  excessively 
long,  and  no  provision  is  made  for  girls.  Who  cares  whether  the 
children  are  anaemic,  apathetic,  diseased,  and  dirty?  The  only  object 
is  to  prepare  Jews  learned  in  the  Torah  until  such  time  as  the  Messiah 
shall  come;  and,  immediately,  to  prepare  them  for  reception  of  the 
Halukkah  pittance  and  for  a  bride  with  a  dowry.  The  Yeshibot, 
where  the  older  men  also  carry  on  their  studies,  are  a  bit  of  the 
Yiddish  Galut  transplanted  to  Palestine.  In  many  cases,  superstitious 
practices  are  combined  with  an  extreme  orthodoxy.     The  standard 

202 


JEWISH  EDUCATION  IN  PALESTINE 

of  learning  is  far  below  that  in  the  Yeshibot  of  Russia.  And  the 
Chief  Rabbi  of  Jerusalem  must  always  be  imported.  In  Jerusalem 
alone  there  were  before  the  war  17  Yeshibot,  22  Talmud  Tor  ah 
schools,  and  innumerable  Hedarim  or  private  schools,  with  about  4,000 
pupils  and  200  teachers.  Jaffa,  Safed,  Hebron,  Tiberias,  and  Haifa 
also  have  their  schools  of  this  type.  And  the  larger  colonies,  such  as 
Petah  Tikvah,  Rishon  le-Zion,  Rehovot,  and  Ekron,  each  supports  a 
Talmud  Torah.  These  schools  are  all  of  them  independent  of  each 
other,  often  at  odds,  because  they  are  supported  separately  by  funds, 
although  not  directed,  from  abroad.  For  the  same  reason,  it  is 
possible  for  these  schools  to  continue  undisturbed  side  by  side  with 
the  new  schools  that  embody  a  different  age  and  spirit. 

In  1866,  a  sort  of  revolt  from  within  resulted  in  the  establishment 
of  the  Bet  Hamidrash  Dorshe  Zion,  known,  also,  because  of  its 
founder's  name,  as  the  Blumenthal  School.  It  differed  from  the  old 
schools  only  in  making  the  study  of  a  European  language  compulsory 
and  in  its  systematic  and  hygienically  sound  management.  However, 
even  it  was  received  with  excommunication  by  the  Ashkenazim, 
although  given  a  welcome  and  used  by  the  Sephardim.  Of  the  Old 
Yishub  in  Palestine,  the  later  Ashkenazic  immigration  from  Eastern 
Europe  is  more  fanatical  and  reactionary  than  the  Sephardic  Jews  settled 
there  since  the  Middle  Ages,  and  earlier.  The  opposition  is  against 
every  form  of  secular  education  and  modernization.  But  gradually 
some  of  the  old  schools  have  in  part  modernized  themselves.  The 
Talmud  Torah  schools,  Ez  Hayim  and  Meah  Shearim,  are  housed  in 
fairly  good  buildings.  And  the  Sephardic  Tipheret  Yerushalayim  in 
Jerusalem,  in  the  inner  city,  has  its  own  building,  the  oldest  school 
building  in  Jerusalem.  The  HoD  Organization  of  Frankfort  (for 
Holland  und  Deutschland)  which  administers  the  Halukkah  from 
Holland  and  Germany,  has  been  doing  educational  work  in  Palestine 
since  1909.  This  Orthodox  organization  instituted  method,  sanitation 
and  order,  added  to  the  curriculum  of  the  Talmud  Torah  the  most 
necessary  secular  subjects,  and  established  two  girls'  schools,  in 
Petah  Tikvah  and  Ekron,  the  former  teaching  domestic  science. 

The  Alliance  Schools 

When  Western  Europe  in  the  past  century  revived  its  interest 
in  the  Holy  Land,  it  was  natural  that  the  more  progressive  sections 
of  Jewry  should  wish  from  philanthropic  motives  to  give  the  benefit 
of  a  modern  Western  education  to  the  Jews  of  the  Orient.  The 
Alliance  Israelite   Universelle,  organized  in   1860,  with  a  special  view 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

to  relieving  Jewish  conditions  in  the  Orient,  established  modern 
schools  throughout  the  Near  East.  As  the  teachers,  although  in  many 
cases  Oriental  Jews,  were  themselves  educated  in  and  sent  out  from 
France,  it  was  natural  that  the  language  of  instruction  should  be 
French.  The  first  Alliance  School  in  Palestine  was  the  Mikveh  Israel 
agricultural  school,  with  its  650  acres  and  fine  buildings  near  Jaffa, 
founded  in  1870  by  Charles  Netter,  a  Jewish  nationalist.  Under  his 
leadership  the  spirit  of  the  school  was  nationalistic  and  Palestinian. 
But  after  his  death  in  1882,  its  policy  became  anti-national  and  anti- 
Hebraic.  Although  it  was  not  so  intended  either  by  the  leaders  in 
Paris  or  by  the  teachers,  the  effect  was  to  educate  farmers,  or  rather, 
administrators  and  teachers,  who  would  wish  to  migrate  to  Europe. 
The  number  of  students  decreased.  A  recent  return  to  the  policy  of 
Jewish  nationalism  has  tended  to  revive  interest  in  the  school. 

The  other  schools  of  the  Alliance,  covering  the  seven  or  eight 
years  of  the  elementary  period,  resemble  the  European  public  school. 
A  small  tuition  fee  is  generally  charged.  There  are  many  of  these 
schools;  those  in  Jerusalem,  Jaffa,  Haifa,  Tiberias,  Saida,  Safed,  and 
Hebron  number  about  2,000  girls  and  boys  (Thon,  1911).  All  of  these 
schools — except  perhaps  the  one  in  Jerusalem  under  Nissim  Behar,  a 
nationalist  and  Hebraist — tended  to  give  the  children  a  European  out- 
look and  the  desire  to  migrate.  The  chief  language  of  instruction  was 
French,  and  Hebrew  was  used  only  in  teaching  religion  and  Jewish 
history.  Where,  more  recently,  adequate  Hebrew  teaching  prevailed, 
the  teachers  were  paid  not  by  the  Alliance,  but  by  other  Jewish 
nationalist  organizations.  The  French  schools  in  the  villages,  under 
the  Rothschild  administration,  have  been  superseded  by  the  Hebrew 
Bet  Hasefer.  The  anti-national  and  assimilationist  tendency  of  the 
Alliance  schools  caused  them  to  lose  the  confidence  of  Palestinian 
Jewry,  as  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  during  the  last  ten  or  fifteen 
years  the  number  of  pupils  in  these  schools  has  either  decreased  or 
remained  stationary,  despite  the  large  increase  of  Jews  in  Palestine. 

However,  the  Alliance  has  done  a  great  service  to  Jewish  educa- 
tion in  Palestine.  It  first  introduced  European  methods  of  instruction 
and  management,  and  it  first  emphasized  the  need  of  industrial  educa- 
tion. As  early  as  1882  it  opened  a  trade  school  in  Jerusalem  for 
carpentry,  cabinet-making,  wood-carving,  weaving  and  dyeing,  and 
machine  construction,  and  for  training  blacksmiths,  coppersmiths,  and 
locksmiths.  The  instruction  was  excellent.  But  through  the  anti- 
national  spirit  of  the  school,  it  failed  to  retain  a  hold  on  the  industrial 
life  of  Jerusalem. 

204 


JEWISH  EDUCATION  IN  PALESTINE 

A  school  similar  to  the  Alliance  schools,  but  where  English  has 
taken  the  place  of  French  as  the  chief  language  of  instruction,  is  the 
Evelina  de  Rothschild  School  for  girls  in  Jerusalem,  belonging  to  the 
Anglo-Jewish  Association.  However,  more  time  is  allotted  to  Hebrew 
than  in  the  Alliance  schools,  and  the  strong  religious  tone  of  the 
instruction  has  won  on  the  whole  the  confidence  of  the  Sephardim  and 
also  of  the  Ashkenazim,  yet  the  Anglicizing  tendency  presented  the 
same  danger  as  in  all  the  philanthropic  schools.  The  school  has  had 
as  many  as  650  pupils.  Its  courses  in  domestic  science  are  especially 
good. 

The  Hilfsverein  Schools 

The  Hilfsverein  der  deutschen  Juden  (or  Ezra),  established  in 
Germany  in  1901,  was  a  rival  of  the  Alliance  in  fostering  Jewish 
education  in  the  Orient.  Its  attitude  at  first  was  in  opposition  to  the 
anti-national  policy  of  the  Alliance,  and  its  tendency  was  toward 
greater  Hebraization.  Its  schools  were  also  better  equipped  and 
managed  than  those  of  the  Alliance.  Its  greatest  service  has  been 
the  creation  of  a  series  of  Hebrew-speaking  kindergartens  (gannim). 
In  them  toddlers  from  every  element  of  the  Jewish  population, 
speaking  Ladino,  Yiddish,  Arabic,  Persian  and  a  medley  of  other 
tongues,  were  welded  into  a  unit  by  the  use  of  Hebrew.  The  Hilfs- 
verein created  a  network  of  excellent  schools,  elementary  and  advanced. 
Its  standard  elementary  school  was  the  Laemelschule  in  Jerusalem, 
for  boys  and  girls,  an  old  German  foundation  with  beautiful  buildings, 
the  earliest  modern  Jewish  school  established  in  Palestine,  in  1856. 
Its  first  director  was  the  pioneer  in  Hebrew,  Dr.  Frankl.  The  school 
was  taken  over  by  the  Ezra  in  1911.  Besides  these  and  other 
elementary  schools  in  the  cities  and  colonies,  it  had  a  teachers' 
seminary,  a  course  for  kindergartners,  a  seminary  for  Rabbis,  and  a 
commercial  school,  all  in  Jerusalem,  and  all  of  these  had  evening 
extension  and  continuation  classes.  The  Ezra  taught,  in  all,  3,000 
pupils  and  employed  150  teachers.  In  its  higher  schools  the  language 
of  instruction  was  German,  and  progressively  less  attention  was  paid 
to  Hebrew.  A  gradual  change  was  clearly  noticeable  both  to  teachers 
and  pupils  from  the  original  Hebraic  to  a  Germanizing  policy. 

The  Bet  Hasefer  in  the  Villages 

All  of  these  foreign  schools,  unconscious  tools  of  a  political 
propaganda,  instead  of  unifying  the  Jewish  population,  helped  to 
divide  it.  Children  of  the  same  family  spoke  different  languages, 
according  to  the  schools  they  attended. 

205 


GUIDE      TO      ZIONISM 

In  the  meanwhile,  another  system  of  schools — if  anything  in  this 
medley  could  be  called  system — was  growing  up  alongside  of  these 
foreign  philanthropic  foundations.  It  was  the  national  Hebrew  school 
system  springing  out  of  the  life  of  the  New  Yishub.  Its  impetus  was 
not  philanthropy,  but  national  self-realization.  And  this  difference 
was  reflected  in  its  whole  spirit. 

These  schools  are  thoroughly  Hebraic — Hebrew  in  all  of  them 
is  the  language  of  instruction — and  are  a  free  expression  of  national 
Jewish  life.  The  Turkish  Government  of  course  made  no  decent 
provision  for  schooling.  The  schools  of  the  Arabs  are  beneath 
criticism.  Besides  this,  they  are  of  course  exclusively  religious 
(Mohammedan).  Though  in  most  cases  the  subsidizing  of  the  Jewish 
national  schools  was  from  abroad,  it  was  such  as  to  leave  them  com- 
plete freedom  of  action.  The  Odessa  Committee,  or  Hoveve  Zion,  has 
since  1902,  at  the  instance  of  Ahad  Ha-am,  devoted  25  to  30  per  cent, 
of  its  income  to  national  education  in  Palestine,  and  its  fundamental 
principle  is  "freedom  of  instruction".  Once  its  schools  are  delivered 
into  competent  hands,  it  ceases  to  interfere  with  their  curricula.  The 
Bet  Hasefer,  or  national  Hebrew  school,  was  inevitable  in  the  New 
Yishub,  where  the  Heder  of  the  Galut  could  no  longer  satisfy,  and 
the  French  school  of  the  philanthropic  regime  was  out  of  touch  with 
the  new  national  spirit.  An  abortive  attempt  to  establish  a  Hebrew 
school  was  made  by  Israel  Belkind  in  Jaffa  as  early  as  1888.  It  failed 
for  lack  of  funds.  Soon  afterwards  Hebrew  national  primary  schools 
began  to  be  established  in  many  of  the  Jewish  villages.  Thirteen  of 
these  schools  were  in  large  part  rather  liberally  supported  by  the 
Jewish  Colonization  Association  (I.  C.  A.),  and  seven  were  more 
meagrely  supported  by  the  Odessa  Committee.  Although  the  I.  C.  A. 
was  not  nationalistic,  it  wisely  refrained  from  interference,  and  in 
fact,  if  not  in  principle,  allowed  as  much  freedom  of  instruction  as 
the  Odessa  Committee.  Two  villages,  Rishon  le-Zion  and  Rehobot, 
wholly  support  their  own  schools.  These  co-educational  village  schools 
were  nominally  independent  of  each  other,  and  many  of  them  are 
still  lacking  in  system  and  weak  in  efficient  teachers,  but  nevertheless 
the  spirit  is  remarkable.  The  teachers  are  self-sacrificing  young 
people,  usually  Russian  intellectuals,  living  on  a  mere  pittance.  A 
religious  spirit  pervades  the  schools,  despite  much  difficulty  in 
achieving  a  form  of  religious  instruction.  The  life  of  the  villages  is 
reflected  in  the  schools ;  they  close  at  noon  on  Fridays  and  are  closed 
on  all  minor  holidays,  such  as  Hamisha  Asar  Bishevat  and  Lag 
Ba'omer,    and    they    make    provision    for    vacations    at    vintage    time. 

20(5 


JEWISH  EDUCATION  IN  PALESTINE 

Hebrew  is  of  course  the  language  of  instruction,  but  Arabic  is  taught 
in  them  all.  Other  subjects  common  to  all  are  Hebrew,  prayers, 
drawing,  Jewish  history,  singing,  gymnastics,  and  sewing.  Arithmetic 
in  some  schools  is  taught  only  as  far  as  fractions,  in  others  as  far 
as  compound  interest.  The  teaching  of  natural  science  is  in  most  of 
them  still  very  deficient,  owing  to  a  lack  of  competent  teachers  and 
of  Hebrew  text-books. 

Agudat  Hamorim 

Although  the  schools  are  nominally  independent  of  each  other, 
in  fact  a  unitary  system  of  education  has  been  developing  since  1903, 
when  Ussischkin,  as  representing  the  Odessa  Committee,  called  a 
conference  of  teachers  in  Zichron  Ya-acob  at  the  time  of  the  Kenessiah, 
who  organized  themselves  into  the  Agudat  Hamorim  or  Teachers' 
Association.  Since  then  their  task  has  been  to  standardize  the  village 
school  system,  to  certificate  teachers  and  to  prepare  Hebrew  text- 
books. They  have  accomplished  remarkable  results  under  great 
handicaps.  It  is  noteworthy  that  in  Palestine  all  the  national  Hebrew 
schools  have  been  organized  and  are  run  by  committees  of  parents  and 
teachers.  The  Merkaz  Hamorim,  the  Executive  Committee  of  the 
Agudat  Hamorim,  which  is  in  part  supported  by  the  Odessa  Com- 
mittee, also  publishes  two  Hebrew  periodicals,  Ha-hinuch,  a  bi-monthly, 
edited  by  Dr.  N.  Turof  and  devoted  to  pedagogy,  and  Moledet,  a 
monthly  for  children.  It  is  also  responsible  for  the  publishing  society 
Kohelet,  which  issues  the  Hebrew  text-books. 

Hebrew  Schools  in  the  Towns 

In  the  cities,  a  number  of  excellent  primary  and  secondary  Hebrew 
national  schools  have  developed,  among  them  the  Bet  Sefer  le-Banot, 
Girls'  School,  in  Jaffa,  which  is  an  outgrowth  of  the  first  attempt  by 
Israel  Belkind.  With  it  are  associated  a  manual  training  school  and 
a  teachers'  seminary,  all  supported — except  for  small  tuition  fees— 
by  the  Odessa  Committee,  and  housed  in  very  fine  buildings  with  a 
large  playground. 

In  Jaffa,  too,  is  the  Hebrew  high  school,  the  Gymnasia  Ivrit 
Herzlia  (co-educational),  founded  in  1904,  which  is  so  far  the  crown 
of  the  whole  Hebrew  educational  system.  Since  1909,  it  is  housed 
in  an  impressive  building,  the  pride  of  Tel  Aviv,  at  the  head  of  Herzl 
Street.  The  splendid  building  was  given  by  Alderman  Moser,  Mayor 
of  Bradford,  England,  in  response  to  an  appeal  from  a  parents'  com- 
mittee in  Jaffa  and  from  Mr.  Sheinkin,  Dr.   Mossinsohn  and  other 

207 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Palestinian  educators.  The  Gymnasium  was  created  to  meet  an 
urgent  need,  for  previously  Jewish  parents  in  Palestine  had  sent 
their  children  abroad  for  their  higher  education.  When  the  war 
broke  out,  the  Gymnasium  had  900  students  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  The  subjects  taught  are  Hebrew,  Bible,  Talmud,  mathe- 
matics, natural  science,  Jewish  history,  ancient  and  modern,  geog- 
raphy, general  and  commercial,  drawing,  bookkeeping,  French, 
Latin,  Greek,  Arabic,  Turkish,  singing,  gymnastics — all  through  the 
medium  of  Hebrew.  The  emphasis  is  on  outdoor  subjects,  gymnastics 
and  general  vigor,  in  contrast  to  the  Ghetto  spirit,  and  as  in  all  trie 
national  schools,  excursions  are  part  of  the  school's  regular  activity. 
The  programs  carried  tend  to  be  rather  heavy,  class  hours  varying 
from  39  to  43  per  week.  Much  time  is  devoted  to  the  study  of  the 
Bible,  Talmud,  prayers  and  ritual  law  from  a  literary,  historical  and 
national  point  of  view,  but  religious  instruction  as  such  is  avoided. 
The  graduates  of  the  Gymnasium  have  been  accepted  without  exam- 
ination by  the  leading  universities  of  America  and  Europe. 

Jerusalem  would  seem  the  most  suitable  spot  for  the  first  Hebrew 
high  school  in  Palestine.  However,  the  more  progressive  and  well-to-do 
Jewish  community  of  Jaffa  was  better  able  to  support  it.  In  Jeru- 
salem there  is  also  a  co-educational  Gymnasia  Ivrit,  organized  on 
the  same  lines  in  1908,  but  inadequately  supported  with  only  a  few 
over  100  students  and  with  no  building  of  its  own. 

The  Mizrahi  (see  Ch.  XV)  have  also  organized  several  national 
Hebrew  schools  in  Palestine,  along  Orthodox  and  Rabbinic  lines. 
The  largest  is  the  Tahkemoni  in  Jaffa,  which  aspires  to  the  status  of  a 
high  school.  This  school  is  only  for  boys,  and  most  of  the  pupils 
come  from  among  the  poor.  After  years  of  struggle,  it  has  recently  been 
well  supported — until  the  war — by  the  Misrahists  of  Frankfort,  Ger- 
many.    Another  Mizrahi  school  is  the  Heder  Torah  of  Jerusalem. 

Special  and  Technical  Schools 

A  number  of  special  schools  have  been  created  by  various 
agencies  to  further  art,  science,  agriculture  and  handicrafts.  There 
are  several  orphanages  in  Jerusalem,  supported  from  abroad,  which 
aspire  to  the  standard  of  schools.  A  few  of  them  are  very  good  ; 
others  are  extremely  questionable  in  methods  and  results.  In  Jeru- 
salem there  is  a  Bet  Hamelachah,  dressmaking  school,  for  girls;  there 
are  the  needle  lace  work  schools  of  the  Verband  juedischer  frauen  in 
Jerusalem,  Jaffa,  Safed,  and  Tiberias,  where  about  400  girls  are  taught 
and  employed ;  and  the  Nathan  Straus  workshops,  established  in  1913, 
for  teaching  the  unskilled  to  make  pearl  buttons  and  trinkets. 

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JEWISH  EDUCATION  IN  PALESTINE 

Music  conservatories,  called  Shulammit  Schools,  in  Jaffa  and 
Jerusalem,  besides  their  direct  educational  work,  influence  musical 
taste  by  arranging  concerts  and  occasionally  issuing  collections  of 
old  and  new  songs. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  singing  is  compulsory  in  all  the 
schools.  Music  in  Palestine  seems  as  necessary  as  breathing. 
Wherever  one  goes,  in  field  and  street,  Hebrew  songs  are  heard,  the 
new  happy  Hebrew  melodies  of  the  Jewish  revival. 

The  thoroughly  Zionist  Bezalel  School  of  Arts  and  Crafts  was 
founded  in  1906  by  Boris  Schaz,  artist  and  Zionist,  who  won  Herzl's 
hearty  support  for  the  project.  The  beautiful  buildings  on  the  out- 
skirts of  Jerusalem  are  built  on  National  Fund  ground.  Applied  art 
is  taught,  and  the  students  are  paid  for  their  work.  In  1912,  430 
persons  were  employed  by  the  school,  who  earned  $27,000,  whereas 
the  sale  of  the  products  amounted  to  $50,000.  The  subjects  taught 
are  carpet-weaving,  filigree  silver  work,  beaten  copper  and  brass 
work,  carving,  lithography,  lace-making,  etc.  In  co-operation  with 
the  National  Fund,  an  industrial  settlement  of  Yemenites  has  been 
established  at  Ben  Shamen,  where  filigree  silver  work  and  rug-weaving 
are  supplemented  by  truck- farming.  The  beginnings  of  a  truly  Jewish 
art  have  already  been  created.  The  school  has  a  museum  of  Palestinian 
natural  objects.  Palestinian  scenes  and  the  letters  of  the  Hebrew 
alphabet  have  become  the  themes  of  design.  Through  this  means, 
many  from  the  Old  Yishub  have  been  taught  the  dignity  of  inde- 
pendence and  the  value  of  the  love  of  beauty.  The  products  show 
excellent  workmanship  and  have  unique  artistic  value ;  they  are  appre- 
ciated abroad,  where  there  have  been  wide  sales  and  numerous 
exhibitions. 

Agricultural  Schools 

The  provision  for  agricultural  training,  which  is  of  supreme 
importance,  is  still  wholly  inadequate.  The  Mikveh  Israel  school  has 
the  plant  which  may  one  day  serve  the  purpose.  The  Petah  Tikvah 
Agricultural  School,  founded  in  1912,  is  theoretical  rather  than  prac- 
tical in  its  teaching.  An  interesting  experiment  that  for  the  time 
being  has  failed  for  lack  of  funds  was  the  agricultural  school  Kiryat 
Sefer  founded  by  Israel  Belkind  for  the  education  of  the  Kishinef 
orphans.  And  at  Kinneret,  near  the  Lake  of  Tiberias,  is  the  very 
practical  farm  school  for  girls  founded  by  the  Verband  juedischer  Frauen 
fuer  Kulturarbeit  in  Palaestina.    This  is  an  excellent  institution,  giving 


GUIDE     TO      ZIONISM 

an  all  round  training  to  the  city  girl  as  a  future  farmer's  wife  or  in- 
dependent farmer. 

Not  a  school,  and  yet  most  important  as  an  educational  institution, 
is  the  Jewish  Agricultural  Experiment  Station  at  Athlit,  near  Zichron 
Ya-acob.  It  owes  its  existence  to  American  Jews,  and  was  incorpor- 
ated in  1910  in  New  York  State.  Its  purpose  is  to  further  scientific 
methods  of  farming  in  Palestine.  A  remarkably  complete  herbarium 
of  Palestine  had  been  collected  before  the  war  (unfortunately 
destroyed),  and  many  successful  experiments  have  been  tried  with 
the  raising  of  cacti  for  purposes  of  fodder,  fencing,  etc.  And  Mr. 
Aaron  Aaronsohn,  managing  director,  discovered  in  Palestine  the 
original  wild  wheat,  growing  in  arid  regions,  and  by  its  cross-fertiliza- 
tion and  other  experiments  in  dry  farming  it  may  add  much  to  the 
world's  possibilities  of  wheat-growing  in  dry  countries.  A  great  deal 
is  to  be  expected  from  the  Experiment  Station. 

The  Language  Struggle  and  the  National  Hebrew  Schools 

In  1913  the  projected  Polytechnicum  at  Haifa  was  the  cause  of 
a  language  struggle  between  the  Hilfsverein  with  its  Germanizing 
tendencies  and  the  now  thoroughly  Hebraized  Jewish  population. 
(See  Ch.  XXXII.)  The  Polytechnicum,  whose  building  was  erected 
on  National  Fund  ground,  was  to  be  jointly  financed  and  managed 
by  the  Hilfsverein,  by  numerous  nationalist  organizations  and  by 
individuals.  When  the  Hilfsverein  took  its  uncompromising  attitude 
on  the  question  of  German  as  the  language  of  instruction,  there  was 
not  only  a  break  in  the  Board  of  Trustees,  but  a  general  and  spon- 
taneous revolt  of  a  large  majority  of  both  pupils  and  teachers  in  all 
the  Hilfsverein  schools.  This  heroic  action  made  it  incumbent  upon 
the  Zionist  Organization  to  carry  the  burden  of  the  new  schools 
that  were  organized  in  order  to  replace  those  of  the  Hilfsverein.  The 
new  nationalist  schools  were  established  throughout  the  villages  and 
cities.  In  order  to  take  firm  hold  of  the  situation,  the  Merkaz  Hamorim 
then  organized  the  Va-ad  Ha-hinuch,  or  Board  of  Education,  which 
has  functioned  ever  since.  These  new  schools  grew  rapidly,  attracting 
broad  sections  of  the  population,  Orthodox  Ashkenazim,  Sephardim, 
Yemenites,  etc.,  who  had  held  aloof  from  the  semi-Hebrew  schools 
of  the  Hilfsverein.  Also  they  counteracted,  more  than  any  of  the 
previous  Jewish  schools,  the  dangerous  attractions  of  the  Christian 
missionary  schools  in  the  cities,  which  had  alienated  hundreds  of 
Jewish  children.  In  Haifa  a  technical  high  school  was  opened  to 
prepare  boys  and  girls  for  the  Polytechnicum  whenever  that  should 
become  a  reality — a  Hebrew  reality. 

210 


JEWISH  EDUCATION  IN  PALESTINE 

Since  the  War — A  National  School  Board 

The  war  found  the  new  national  school  system  still  very  new. 
One  of  the  marvels  of  Palestine's  reaction  to  the  war  has  been  the 
stubborn  resolve  to  keep  the  schools  open  at  any  cost.  Often  that 
included  feeding  and  caring  for  the  children.  Many  teachers  were 
banished.  Funds  failed  to  arrive.  The  whole  Jewish  population  of 
Jaffa  and  part  of  that  of  Jerusalem  were  banished  to  Northern  Pales- 
estine.  Among  the  refugees'  camps  the  Va-ad  Ha-hinuch  established 
schools.  When  the  Weizmann  Commission  arrived  in  Palestine,  it 
found  a  thoroughly  Zionist  Board  of  Education  to  deal  with.  Zionist 
funds  for  subsidizing  all  Jewish  schools  in  Palestine  are  administered 
by  thjs  Board,  and  all  the  schools  are  being  subsidized,  but  on  two 
conditlonslMhat  Hebrew  be  the  language  of  instruction  and  that  there 
be  a  certain  standard  of  hygiene  and  sanitation.  The  buildings  of  the 
Hilfsverein  will  probably  pass  to  the  new  schools,  and  every  effort 
is  being  made  by  the  Commission,  seemingly  with  the  co-operation 
of  all  sections  of  Jewry,  to  organize  a  unified  national  Hebrew  school 
system  in  Palestine. 

The  Hebrew  University 

A  Hebrew  university  at  Jerusalem  had  been  dreamed  of  and 
written  of  for  many  years.  Just  before  the  war,  in  1913,  the  eleventh 
Zionist  Congress  brought  that  dream  near  realization.  Through  the 
efforts  of  Dr.  Weizmann,  Ussischkin  and  others,  a  large  fund  was 
raised,  ground  was  given  for  the  building  on  Mount  Scopus,  near  the 
Mount  of  Olives,  overlooking  Jerusalem  and  the  Jordan  valley,  and 
much  preparatory  work  was  done.  The  Hebrew  University  has  come 
to  be  almost  a  symbol  of  Jewish  renationalization,  of  spiritual  rebirth. 
It  stands  as  the  spiritual  rallying  point  of  Israel.  Chaim  Weizmann 
proclaimed  that  to  all  the  world  by  making  one  of  his  first  political  acts 
in  Palestine,  on  July  24,  1918,  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the 
Hebrew  University. 

References: 

Jewish  Schools  in  Palestine,  (1912),  by  Norman  Bentwich.  Hebrew  Education 
t»  Palestine,  by  Leon  Simon.  Palestine  of  the  Jews,  by  Norman  Bentwich,  Ch.  VII, 
pp.  152,  177. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

Boris  Schatz  and  the  Bezalel  School  for  Arts  and  Crafts.  The  Jewish  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station. 


211 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

THE    HEBREW    REVIVAL    IN    PALESTINE 
Eliezer  Ben  Yehudah 

That  Hebrew  should  have  become  the  language  of  the  Jews  in 
Palestine  was  probably  inevitable.  Now,  after  the  event,  we  can  see 
that  only  Hebrew  could  have  unified  the  Jews  from  all  ends  of  the 
world  who  brought  with  them  a  multiplicity  of  languages.  Still,  as 
in  most  cases  where  a  great  movement  is  initiated,  one  person  was 
responsible  for  the  creation  of  modern  Hebrew  speech  in  Palestine. 
This  pioneer,  Eliezer  Ben  Yehudah,  did  as  great  a  work  in  his  way  as 
Theodor  Herzl.  He  was  born  in  Russia  in  1858.  Before  he  had 
reached  the  age  of  twenty  he  had  passed  through  the  spiritual 
adventures  of  a  Maskil  and  of  a  Nihilist.  His  love  of  the  Hebrew 
language  culminated  in  Jewish  nationalism.  And  when  this  convic- 
tion came  upon  him,  he  realized  that  the  first  task — at  least  for  him — 
was  to  create  or  to  revive  the  Hebrew  tongue  in  the  Jewish  land. 
He  went  to  Paris  to  study  and  later,  in  1881,  he  went  to  Palestine, 
where  he  settled  in  Jerusalem.  There  he  met  the  most  bitter  and 
cruel  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  Orthodox  Jewish  community.  In 
Jerusalem  in  those  days  Hebrew  was  not  spoken.  There  was  a  babel 
of  tongues,  chiefly  Yiddish  among  the  Ashkenazim  and  Ladino  or  a 
Spanish- Jewish  jargon  among  the  Sephardim.  Ben  Yehudah  was 
not  an  Orthodox  Jew.  He  was  looked  upon  by  these  people  not  only 
as  a  fool  and  a  silly  dreamer,  but  as  an  impostor  and  even  a  meshumad. 
He  was  excommunicated  again  and  again  and  yet  he  remained. 
Despite  great  physical  weakness — for  he  was  suffering  from  lung 
trouble — his  mental  strength  and  his  iron  will  carried  him  through 
all  adversities.  He  lived  in  a  cellar  with  his  wife,  whom  he  had 
married  with  the  understanding  that  only  Hebrew  was  to  be  spoken  in 
their  home.  He  managed  to  become  editor  of  a  Hebrew  weekly,  and 
he  gathered  about  him  a  group  of  enthusiasts.  So  bitter  was  the 
feeling  against  him  that  when  his  first  wife  died,  there  was  a  protest 
against  burying  her  in  the  Jewish  cemetery.  And  at  one  time  he  was 
thrown  into  prison  by  the  Turkish  authorities  through  the  machina- 
tions of  his  Jewish  enemies.  . 

212 


THE  HEBREW  REVIVAL  IN  PALESTINE 

Early  Struggles  to  Develop  Hebrew  Speech — The  Kindergartens 

But  in  the  end  he  triumphed.  As  the  new  Jewish  settlement 
grew  up  about  him,  he  was  the  center  of  the  Hebraic  movement. 
Other  individuals  took  upon  them  the  same  pledge  to  speak  only- 
Hebrew  in  their  households.  Dr.  Frankl,  the  first  director  of  the 
Laemelschule,  had  already  done  so.  Gradually,  Hebrew-speaking 
clubs  grew  up.  For  instance,  there  were  the  Palestine  B'ne  B'rit 
lodges,  which  made  it  a  principle  to  speak  only  Hebrew  at  their 
meetings  and  gatherings.  Some  of  these  societies  fined  their  mem- 
bers for  a  lapse  into  any  other  language.  But  the  chief  strength  of 
the  Hebraic  movement  was  the  school  children.  In  the  older  days 
each  school,  founded  by  persons  from  a  different  European  nation, 
had  a  different  language  of  instruction,  and  the  babel  was  hopeless. 
Now  there  grew  up  the  Hebrew  kindergartens  where  children  between 
the  ages  of  three  and  six  learned  to  speak  and  sing  and  play  in  Hebrew 
even  before  they  could  read.  They  took  home  their  language,  and  so 
it  began  in  fact  to  become  a  mother  tongue.  The  mothers  learned 
from  their  children.  The  method  used  was  the  Ivrit  be-Ivrit.  By 
this  method  young  children  were  taught  Hebrew,  not  through  trans- 
lation, but  by  a  systematic  use  of  Hebrew  itself  with  the  help  of  charts 
and  objects. 

Va-ad  Halashon — Millon — School  Teaching 

So,  gradually,  the  life  in  the  villages  became  Hebraic.  All  the 
various  populations  were  molded  into  one  by  their  common  speech. 
And  the  few  enthusiasts  in  Jerusalem  who  gave  their  whole  time  to 
the  development  of  the  tongue  kept  it  to  its  purity.  Hebrew  drama 
grew  up  and  it  was  the  only  drama  in  the  country.  There  was  organ- 
ized in  Jerusalem  the  Va-ad  Halashon,  or  language  committee,  with 
Ben  Yehudah  at  its  head,  to  pass  upon  all  words,  and,  in  case  of 
necessity,  to  create  new  words.  Here  the  teachers  used  to  meet  and 
to  bring  their  problems.  Often  it  was  little  children  who  gave  new 
forms  to  the  language.  These  forms  were  discussed  by  the  Va-ad 
and  standardized.  New  word  forms  were  created  from  words  found 
throughout  Hebrew  literature  and  from  words  found  on  some  of 
the  inscriptions  which  had  been  brought  to  light  by  excavations  in 
Palestine  and  neighboring  countries  in  recent  years.  Meanwhile  Ben 
Yehudah  was  working  on  his  Millon — or  Hebrew  dictionary — a  vast 
work  in  many  volumes  which  is  not  yet  completed.  After  he  ha'd 
done  many  years  of  work  upon  it,  he  found  several  backers  among 
some  of  the  German  Jews  who  were  not  Zionists,  but  who  appreciated 

213 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

his  labors.  Academic  work  and  practical  development  went  hand  in 
hand.  At  the  same  time  that  the  Millon  was  being  written,  there 
were  created  Hebrew  nursery  songs  and  folk  songs.  In  the  life  of 
Jewish  children  in  Palestine,  the  Bible  was  no  longer  a  dead  book, 
a  dry  subject  for  study,  but  an  intensely  interesting  account  of  their 
own  history  in  their  own  land.  Thus  the  whole  method  was  changed 
in  Jewish  religious  teaching.     It  became  vitally  modern. 

Libraries,  Reading  Rooms  and  Publications 

Libraries  grew  up  in  Jerusalem.  There  was  the  Jewish  National 
Library,  founded  there  by  Dr.  Joseph  Chasanovitz.  The  books  had 
been  turned  over  to  the  ownership  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund.  In 
1910  there  were  34,200  books  and  20,549  visits  to  the  library.  Most 
of  the  Jewish  villages  and  all  of  the  Jewish  town  settlements  also  have 
libraries  and  reading  rooms.  Usually  these  are  situated  in  the  Bet 
Ha-am,  the  people's  house,  which  is  the  club  house  of  the  community. 
In  the  streets  one  sees  everywhere  Hebrew  signs  and  advertisements 
and  street  names.  There  were  a  number  of  Hebrew  newspapers, 
practically  all  of  which  were  forced  because  of  the  war  to  suspend  publi- 
cation, but  will  no  doubt  soon  resume ;  Ha-or  and  Ha-herut  are  dailies ; 
Ha-ahdut,  a  weekly,  is  the  organ  of  the  Poale-Zion,  and  Hapoel  Hazair, 
a  semi-monthly,  was  at  first  a  workmen's  paper,  representing  the 
organization  by  that  name,  but  is  now  the  organ  of  the  New  Settle- 
ment in  general.  Ha-meassef  is  a  monthly  magazine;  Ha-haklai  is  the 
agricultural  journal  of  the  Union  of  Judaean  Colonies.  Besides  these 
there  are  the  educational  journals,  Ha-hinuch  and  Moledet.  And 
recently,  since  the  British  occupation,  there  is  a  Hebrew  paper  under 
British  auspices,  Hadashot  Ha-aretz,  "The  Palestine  News".  Nat- 
urally there  is  need  for  the  numerous  Hebrew  publishing  houses. 

The  Language  Struggle. 

In  1913  the  Hebraic  development  of  Palestine  was  put  to  its 
severest  test,  and  it  made  good.  For  some  years  previous  the  Hilfs- 
verein  der  deutschen  Juden,  which  began  by  teaching  Hebrew  and 
using  Hebrew  as  the  language  of  instruction  in  most  of  its  schools, 
had  gradually  changed  its  policy  and  inaugurated  a  process  of  Ger- 
manization.  One  cannot  help  suspecting  that,  consciously  or  uncon- 
sciously, these  schools  were  an  instrument  of  German  politics.  In 
1913,  the  project  was  launched  for  a  technical  college  in  Haifa.  A 
good  part  of  the  money  for  this  project  was  given  by  the  Wissotski 
family  of  Moscow,  and  another  sum  by  the  Hilfsverein.    A  large  share 

214 


THE  HEBREW  REVIVAL  IN  PALESTINE 

was  also  contributed  by  wealthy  American  Jews.     Ahad  Ha-am  and 
Dr.  Schmarya  Levin  were  among  the  trustees  of  the  fund.     Dr.  Levin 
went  to  Palestine  and  busied  himself  with  the  initial  work.     The 
land  was  given  by  the  Jewish  National  Fund.    When  Dr.  Levin  was 
in  Palestine,  he  noticed  the  attitude  taken  there  toward  Hebrew  by 
the  heads  of  the  Hilfsverein  schools.     Therefore  he  immediately  asked 
for   a   definition   from   the  Hilfsverein  of   their   attitude   in   regard  to 
Hebrew   in   the   new    Technicum.     Their  reply    was    decidedly    disap- 
pointing; they  refused  to  make  Hebrew  the  language  of  instruction. 
At  a  meeting  where  none  of  the  American  trustees  was  present,  the 
Hilfsverein  managed  to  have  a  vote  passed  in  favor  of  Germanization. 
Thereupon  the  Zionist  members  of  the  board,  Ahad  Ha-am,  Dr.  Levin, 
and  Dr.  J.  Tchlenow,  resigned.     Tremendous    excitement   was    created 
in  Palestine  itself.    The  Merkaz  Hamorim  protested  against  the  action 
of  the  Hilfsverein.    Their  protests  went  unheeded.     Many    of  the  pro- 
testing teachers  were  shut  out   from  the  Hilfsverein  schools,  among 
them  David  Yellin,  one  of  the  oldest  workers  for  the  Hebrew  revival, 
who  had  been  a  Hebrew  teacher  in  Palestine  for  25  years,  and  who  is 
a  writer  and  educator  of  high  attainments.    With  the  teachers  went 
the  children,  and  there  was  a  strike  in  which  the  greater  number  of 
teachers    and    students    left    the    Hilfsverein  schools.     Demonstrations 
were  held  in  many  cities.    The  children  marched  through  the  streets, 
singing  Hebrew  songs  and  carrying  banners.     Then  it  was  that  Ben 
Yehudah  endangered  the  publication  of  his  Millon  by  standing  firmly 
with  the  young  generation  whose  leader  he  had  been.     The  Zionist 
Organization  stood  behind  the  children  and  the  teachers,  and  so  did 
the  whole  New  Yishub.    The  new  national  schools  were  created  at  that 
time  and  the  children  and  teachers  went  over  to  them  in  a  body. 
Those  who  had  had  scholarships  in  the  Hilfsverein  schools  were  hence- 
forth supported  by  collections  among  the  teachers  and  pupils.     The 
Zionist  Organization  took  upon  itself  the  budget  for  the  new  schools, 
which  was  a  departure  from  its  previous  policy ;  and  the  budget  thus 
assumed  amounted  to  nearly  $31,000.     It  was  the  first  step  in  that 
national    education   which,    since    the    war,    the    Zionists    have   proved 
themselves  ready  to  assume  for  the  whole  of  Palestine. 

The  Hebrew  University 

One  might  almost  say  that  the  victory  of  the  school  children  was 
the  first  victory  in  the  Great  War,  even  though  it  preceded  the  war 
by  a  year.  That  the  laying  of  the  corner-stone  of  the  Hebrew 
University  by  Dr.  Weizmann  was  one  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Zionist 

215 


GUIDE      TO      ZIONISM 

Commission,  emphasized  the  importance  to  the  Zionists  of  the  Hebraic 
movement.  The  agitation  for  a  Hebrew  University  dates  back  to  the 
early  days  of  Zionism.  Dr.  Hermann  Schapira,  originator  of  the 
Jewish  National  Fund,  first  proposed  it.  Later  the  idea  was  taken 
up  by  many  others,  not  only  Zionists,  and  all  agreed  that  the  Univer- 
sity must  be  Hebrew  in  every  sense,  using  Hebrew  as  the  language 
of  instruction,  yet  for  some  time  it  seemed  possible  that  it  might 
have  to  be  founded  elsewhere  than  in  Palestine.  At  the  eleventh 
Zionist  Congress,  in  1913,  Dr.  Chaim  Weizmann,  who  as  professor 
in  the  University  of  Manchester,  has  a  deep  interest  in  democratic 
education,  presented  a  report  on  the  founding  of  the  university  in 
Jerusalem.  Mr.  Ussischkin  was  also  active  in  urging  the  project. 
At  the  congress  $90,000  was  subscribed  to  further  the  work.  Later, 
a  commission  of  the  Actions  Committee  procured  a  tract  of  land  on 
Mt.  Scopus.  And  so  the  work  was  ready  to  begin.  Large  funds  have 
since  been  given,  among  them  $25,000  by  Mr.  Jacob  Schiff,  and  the 
site  was  donated  by  Isaac  Goldberg,  a  Russian  Jew.  Thus  Dr.  Weiz- 
mann in  laying  the  corner-stone  only  carried  out  the  mandate  of  the 
the  Zionist  Organization.  Quite  apart  from  the  value  of  the  Hebrew 
University  to  Jews  all  over  the  world — a  value  which  we  need  not 
discuss  here — it  will  fill  a  large  place  in  the  practical  life  of  a  revital- 
ized Palestine.  No  doubt  its  first  faculties  will  be  scientific.  Here, 
too,  there  will  be  a  center  for  Hebraic  study.  So  we  will  be  training 
at  once  our  own  physicians  and  engineers,  our  own  teachers  and 
Hebraists. 

Within  forty  years  a  language  has  been  recreated.  What  sac- 
rifices went  into  that  work  it  is  almost  impossible  to  imagine.  For- 
tunately Ben  Yehudah,  despite  his  physical  weakness,  has  had  the 
strength  to  outlive  all  the  vicissitudes  of  life,  including  political 
persecution  and  exile  during  the  war,  and  has  seen  the  fulfillment  in 
one  lifetime  of  his  almost  prophetic  vision  of  the  Hebrew  revival. 

References: 

A  Hebrew  University  for  Jerusalem,  by  H.  Sacher.  The  German  Attack  on  the 
Hebrew  Schools  in  Palestine,  by  Israel  Cohen.  Palestine  and  the  Hebrew  Revival, 
by  E.  Miller. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  story  of  the  Technicum  and  the  language  struggle.  Characteristics  of  the 
Hebrew  language. 


216 


CHAPTER  XXXIII 

THE    EFFECT    OF    THE    WAR    UPON    THE    JEWISH    SETTLEMENT 

IN    PALESTINE* 

The  Danger  Foreseen 

On  Tisha  B'ab  of  the  year  5674  (August  1,  1914),  news  of  the 
war  reached  those  in  Palestine.  Although  all  believed  at  the  time 
that  the  war  would  not  last  very  long,  still  they  immediately  realized 
that  even  a  short  duration  could  bring  evil  effects  upon  Palestine,  and 
that  they  must  prepare  in  order  to  tide  over  the  crisis. 

Through  the  initiative  of  the  Zionist  element,  a  united  meeting 
of  the  city  committee  (Va-ad  Ha-ir)  of  Tel- Aviv  and  Jaffa  took 
place  that  very  day ;  a  few  days  later,  representatives  from  the  Jewish 
villages  and  from  Jerusalem  also  came  together;  and  a  united  com- 
mittee for  the  whole  of  Palestine  was  formed. 

The  following  dangers  were  foreseen : 

(1)  The  ports  would  be  closed;  it  would  be  impossible  to  export 
for  sale  the  products  of  the  Jewish  villages  (wine,  almonds,  oranges, 
etc.),  the  main  support  of  the  farmers. 

(2)  It  would  be  impossible  for  goods  to  come  in;  everything 
would  become  expensive ;  there  would  be  no  coal  and  no  oil  for  operating 
the  machines,  the  irrigation  plants  for  the  farms,  and  the  few  factories 
that  were  in  the  land. 

(3)  The  banks  would  cease  operation,  and  business  would  be 
crippled  thereby. 

(4)  The  greater  part  of  the  population  of  the  cities,  who  had  been 
dependent  on  the  Halukkah,  would  no  longer  receive  stipends  from 
the  warring  countries,  and  that  at  a  time  when  even  the  independent 
population  would  be  suffering  from  unemployment  and  cessation  of 
earning  power. 

(5)  Under  such  circumstances,  speculation  in  money  and  in  the 
chief  necessities  of  life  would  begin,  which  might  be  worse  than  even 
war  itself. 

Self-Help 

In  accordance  with  these  impending  needs,  the  work  of  relief 
was  divided  into  various  sections: 

•By  M.  Sheinkin. 

217 


GUIDE     TO      ZIONISM 

(1)  Finance  Committee  {Va-ad  Hakessafim),  whose  duty  it  was 
to  see  that  no  crisis  should  arise  because  of  clever  speculation  in 
gold  and  in  small  coins.  For  this  purpose  the  Jewish  Bank,  the  Anglo- 
Palestine  Company,  issued  bank  notes  of  over  five-franc  denomina- 
tions, and  the  Committee  of  Tel-Aviv  issued  checks  as  low  as  one 
franc. 

(2)  Bread  Committee  {Va-ad  Halehem),  which  bought  wheat  at 
a  low  price  (especially  from  the  farms  of  the  National  Fund  and 
from  the  Jewish  villages),  ground  it,  and  baked  and  sold  bread  at 
cost  price. 

(3)  Store  Committee  {Va-ad  Hahanuyot),  which  had  in  its  own 
store  some  of  the  chief  necessities,  such  as  flour,  sugar,  various  kinds 
of  peas  and  beans,  potatoes,  coal,  etc.,  and  sold  these  at  cost  price. 

(4)  Merchants'  Union  {Agudat  Hasoharim)  was  financed  by  the 
Jewish  Bank,  in  order  to  be  able  to  buy  and  sell  goods  at  normal  prices. 

(5)  Labor  Committee  {Va-ad  Ha-avodah),  which  sought  employ- 
ment and  means  of  livelihood  for  artisans  and  workingmen ;  money 
was  lent  to  those  who  were  capable  of  doing  some  definite  kind  of 
work  (building,  planting,  etc.). 

(6)  Loan  Committee  {Va-ad  Hamalveh) — To  loan  money,  upon 
security,  without  interest. 

(7)  Relief  Committee  {Va-ad  Ha-ezorah — To  help  those  who 
could  not  possibly  earn  their  living. 

All  that  had  been  foreseen  came  to  pass,  and  the  Jews  were  pre- 
pared to  meet  it. 

Such  a  system  of  thorough  organization  existed  in  the  progressive 
city  of  Jaffa.  But  the  other  cities  were  also  well  organized,  having 
cheap  soup-kitchens  and  cheap  distribution  of  tea  and  bread.  The 
Jewish  villages  did  not  at  first  need  any  help.  The  workers  and 
artisans  particularly  distinguished  themselves  with  their  organization 
and  self-help. 

The  first  funds  for  the  organizations  were  raised  within  Palestine 
itself.  Everyone  was  taxed  and  each  one  gave  more  than  he  could 
afford.  So,  had  the  war  really  lasted  only  a  few  months,  the  new 
Jewish  settlements  in  Palestine  would  have  weathered  the  storm  with- 
out outside  aid. 

American  Aid 

When  Turkey  entered  the  war  in  October,  1914,  the  people  began 
to  feel  the  rope  tightening  about  their  necks,  and  they  turned  to  foreign 
Jews  with  an  appeal  for  aid.   ,The  first  and  practically  the  only  ones 

218 


THE  WAR  AND  THE  JEWISH  SETTLEMENT 

to  answer  were  the  American  Jews  in  general,  and  the  American  Zionist 
Provisional  Committee  in  particular.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  were  it  not 
for  this  American  help,  the  old  Jewish  settlements  in  Palestine  would  have 
been  wiped  out.  Even  the  new  Jewish  villages  would  have  been  unable 
to  continue  their  productive  work,  had  it  not  been  for  the  aid  of  Amer- 
ica ;  the  gardens  and  fields  could  be  worked  only  through  the  loans  from 
American  funds;  the  Jewish  bank  was  able  to  make  small  payments  to 
its  depositors  only  because  of  the  money  that  used  to  come  from  America. 
From  these  funds  employment  was  also  created  for  the  workmen  and 
artisans.  The  schools  were  likewise  maintained  by  the  American  budget. 
Foodstuffs  that  came  on  the  ship  Vulcan  also  had  a  certain  effect, 
probably  because  almost  half  was  distributed  among  the  non-Jewish 
population. 

During  the  course  of  the  first  year,  the  American  moneys  used  to 
come  directly  in  gold  through  American  ships.  Later,  however,  the 
money  came  in  Turkish  notes,  which  were  exchanged  for  one-third 
or  even  a  smaller  fraction  of  their  face  value  in  gold.  Still,  this  little 
money  served  to  help  uphold  life. 

Economic  Oppression 

With  the  entry  of  Turkey  into  the  war,  new  economic  troubles 
began,  and  even  political  persecution.  Turkey  knew  of  no  such  thing 
as  a  war  loan.  Aside  from  the  money  that  flowed  in  from  Germany, 
the  only  source  of  Government  revenue  consisted  in  requisitions  of 
products,  cattle,  horses,  and  labor.  In  the  cities  all  sorts  of  goods 
were  taken,  from  flour  and  sugar,  wood  and  iron,  to  silk  stockings. 
In  the  Jewish  villages  tin  was  taken  from  the  roofs,  wire  from  the 
gates,  and  pipes  and  engines  from  the  irrigation  plants.  Fear  and 
disorder  probably  created  more  hardship  at  this  stage  than  did  the 
damage  itself.  The  Jewish  villagers  suffered  to  a  greater  extent  also 
because  they  had  better  cattle,  utensils  and  wagons  than  their  Arab 
neighbors.  The  men  were  called  for  military  service ;  they  were  able  at 
first  to  buy  their  freedom  legally  with  money.  Eventually,  however, 
they  had  to  go  into  the  service  and  endure  the  terrible  conditions  in 
the  Turkish  army,  where  the  soldiers  suffered  hunger,  cold,  uncleanli- 
ness  and  exposure  to  disease.  People  felt  the  approach  of  a  terrible 
storm.  Nevertheless,  there  was  a  grim  determination  on  the  part  of 
the  Jewish  inhabitants  to  remain  in  the  country  and  to  guard  the  Jew- 
ish possessions.  Thousands  of  Jews,  subjects  of  foreign  countries,  even 
took  advantage  of  the  Porte's  permission  to  become  naturalized,  just 
so  that  they  might  remain  in  Palestine. 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

All  the  tourists  fled  in  the  last  of  the  European  ships.  Thousands 
of  the  older  Jews,  who  knew  that  they  could  receive  no  money  from 
abroad,  left  the  country  for  Egypt.  Some  of  the  younger  people, 
fearing  to  be  left  without  work,  also  went  away.  But  the  greater 
number  of  those  Jews  who  were  able  to  work  remained.  Practically 
all  the  teachers  stayed,  and  not  one  of  the  villagers  left  the  country  of 
his  own  free  will.  So  attached  had  they  become  to  the  land,  that  they 
decided  to  share  its  bitter  lot. 

Political  Persecution 

Toward  the  end  of  1914,  Djemal  Pasha  came  to  Palestine,  and 
then  began  the  political  persecution  of  the  Zionists.  Upon  his  first 
arrival  in  Jerusalem  he  called  out  twenty-five  Zionist  representatives. 
This  time  he  only  threatened  them,  and  the  punishment  meted  out 
was  light:  A  few  of  the  Zionists  were  sent  out  of  the  Jerusalem 
district. 

After  this,  false  reports  were  circulated  to  the  effect  that  the 
Jewish  villages  possessed  hidden  arms.  But  nothing  of  the  sort  could 
be  proven. 

Djemal  Pasha  gave  stringent  orders  against  Zionist  insignia :  The 
flag,  the  shekel,  National  Fund  Stamps.  Investigations  were  begun, 
and  the  leaders  in  Zionist  work  were  arrested.  He  did  not  impose 
heavy  penalties,  but  he  did  begin  to  expel  them,  singly  and  in  groups, 
some  being  sent  to  Asia  Minor,  and  the  rest  deported. 

It  was  thought  that  this  action  would  cool  the  anger  of  Djemal 
Pasha.  He  even  promised  to  live  in  peace  and  harmony  with  the 
remaining  Zionists.  It  is  true  he  insisted  that  the  Porte  would  not 
allow  any  more  Jews  into  Palestine.  But  after  all,  at  that  time  it 
was  merely  a  question  of  pulling  through  to  the  end  of  the  war. 

Locusts 

Then  another  trouble  came  from  an  altogether  different  quarter. 
Locusts,  which  come  so  rarely  to  Palestine,  and  which  had  not  shown 
themselves  in  the  course  of  the  previous  forty  years,  appeared  just  at  this 
time  (in  the  summer  of  1915)  in  such  vast  numbers  that  they  covered 
the  whole  face  of  the  land,  particularly  in  Judaea,  where  the  Jewish 
plantations  are  situated.  As  is  their  custom,  the  adult  locusts  laid 
their  eggs,  and  although  the  Jewish  farmers  tried  all  possible  methods 
of  prevention,  the  Arabian  population  was  not  so  careful.  The  best 
chemicals  for  fighting  the  locusts  could  not  be  brought  from  Europe, 
and  like  overflowing  rivers  the  young  locusts  flooded  the  land  and 


THE  WAR  AND  THE  JEWISH  SETTLEMENT 

devoured  everything  in  field  and  garden.  All  the  energy  and  the  last 
penny  of  the  Jewish  settlers  went  into  the  unsuccessful  fight.  The 
work  in  fields  and  gardens  had  to  be  begun  all  over  again ;  still  more 
energy  and  still  greater  expenditures  had  to  be  forthcoming.  This 
could  not  possibly  have  been  accomplished  at  the  time  had  it  not  been 
for  the  new  loans  that  were  made  by  the  American  Zionists  to  the 
Jewish  farmers.  This  saved  the  day.  Employment  was  created  for 
the  people,  and  the  gardens  again  began  to  bloom  and  to  bear. 

Disease 

Comparatively,  the  winter  of  1915-1916  passed  peacefully  but  not 
without  much  want.  During  the  summer  the  results  of  the  proximity 
of  the  Turkish  army  began  to  show  themselves.  Epidemics  of  spotted 
fever  (typhus),  dysentery,  etc.,  broke  out.  The  physicians  were  away 
in  the  army,  there  was  no  medicine.  A  consignment  of  drugs  which 
had  been  sent  from  America  was  roaming  somewhere  on  the  high 
seas,  because  permission  to  deliver  it  in  Palestine  could  not  be  had. 
Unfortunately,  the  stout  souls  of  our  pioneers  dwelt  in  weakened 
bodies,  and  the  number  of  victims  was  enormous.  Still  they  made 
no  complaints.  They  suffered  in  silence,  and  they  remained  in  their 
beloved  homeland. 

New  Persecutions 

The  next  winter  (1916-1917)  the  epidemics  waned  somewhat,  but 
the  economic  situation  became  unbearable.  One  could  buy  practically 
nothing  with  the  little  money  that  was  coming  in  Turkish  paper  notes 
from  America.  The  few  remaining  cattle  and  all  other  wealth  and  pos- 
sessions were  taken  away  from  the  Jewish  farmers  for  the  use  of  the 
army;  there  was  nothing  with  which  to  plow  and  nothing  to  sow. 
The  men  were  again  being  called  for  military  service,  although  they 
had  bought  their  freedom  several  times  over,  and  conditions  in  the 
army  became  unspeakable.  Men  perished  from  need  and  disease  even 
before  they  had  the  opportunity  to  go  to  battle. 

When  we  read  the  descriptions  of  those  times  we  wonder  how 
people  could  have  lived  through  them  at  all. 

The  laborers  would  under  no  circumstances  leave  the  Jewish 
fields  and  gardens ;  the  teachers,  especially,  would  not  abandon  the 
last  ray  of  hope,  their  schools.  Hungry,'  half  naked  and  barefooted, 
they  would  steal  their  way  to  the  schools  to  do  their  work,  where  each 
time  they  found  fewer  children,  more  naked  ones  and  more  orphans. 

221 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

Whenever  the  Turkish  officials  found  those  who  had  hidden  or 
fled  from  military  service,  they  would  torment  and  torture  them  in  the 
most  brutal  manner  and  would  confine  them  in  the  vile  Turkish  dun- 
geons. These  persecutions  brought  the  whole  population  into  a  state 
of  despondency  and  despair.  The  only  hope  was  that  England  might 
soon  take  possession  of  the  land  and  redeem  them  from  this  hell. 
Even  though  the  Turkish  Government  had  no  concrete  proof  of  this 
state  of  mind,  it  still  realized  where  the  sympathy  of  the  Jewish 
settlers  must  lie.  This  vexed  Turkey  all  the  more,  and  the  persecu- 
tions became  more  intense  and  all  but  unendurable. 

The  Expulsion  from  Jaffa 

In  March,  1917,  when  the  British  army  approached  nearer  to  the 
Palestinian  border,  the  order  was  given  by  the  Turkish  Government 
that  all  the  Jews  were  to  be  expelled  from  Jaffa.  Thousands  of  Jews 
who  had  aroused  suspicion  were  sent  out  of  Jerusalem  also.  The 
Jews  at  the  village  of  Jehudieh  were  allowed  to  remain,  but  their 
cattle  and  much  of  their  wealth  were  taken  away  from  them. 

The  Jewish  villages  in  Galilee  sent  all  their  horses  and  wagons 
to  bring  the  expelled  Jews  up  to  them.  The  Turkish  Government 
used  this  as  an  excuse,  and  seized  all  the  horses  and  wagons.  Some 
of  the  Jews  were  taken  away  in  typhus-infested  wagons;  thousands 
wandered  about  on  foot,  thousands  remained,  sick  and  in  need,  in  the 
neighboring  Jewish  villages  of  Petah  Tikvah,  Kfar  Saba,  and  Hederah. 

Living  under  the  open  sky,  half  clothed,  they  managed  somehow 
or  other  to  pull  through  the  summer,  but  winter  (1917-1918)  with  its 
rain  and  snow  came  again,  and  need  and  hunger  overwhelmed  them. 

And  the  nearer  the  British  approached,  the  more  suspicious  did 
the  Turks  become  of  the  Jews.  They  were  charged  with  treason ; 
arrests,  executions,  and  expulsions  daily  grew  in  number.  It  was  felt 
that  the  last  ounce  of  energy  was  exhausted,  that  all  the  Jewish  settle- 
ments were  doomed  to  destruction. 

Liberation  by  Great  Britain 

Like  a  message  from  heaven  came  the  British  Declaration  on  the 
second  of  November,  1917.  This,  however,  only  served  still  further  to 
infuriate  the  Turkish  officials,  and  there  was  great  fear  that  they 
would  wreak  vengeance  upon  the  Jews. 

But  at  the  same  time  began  the  victories  of  the  British  army  in 
Palestine.  The  march  from  Gaza  to  Jaffa  lasted  only  a  few  weeks. 
Ten  days  later,  on  the  first  day  of  Hanukkah  (5678),  Jerusalem  was  also 

222 


THE  WAR  AND  THE  JEWISH  SETTLEMENT 

free.  The  village  of  Petah  Tikvah  found  itself  a  "no  man's  land"  for 
some  time,  and  was  almost  ruined  by  shell  fire ;  *  but  in  a  short  time  it, 
too,  was  freed.  In  this  way,  the  two  most  important  cities  and  about 
fifteen  Jewish  villages  in  Judaea  began  to  breathe  freely.  Life  became 
secure ;  people  returned  to  their  normal  activities.  The  British  military 
officials  were  helpful  and  friendly;  they  provided  the  Jewish  villages 
with  animals  and  seed  and  made  trade  with  Egypt  possible.  The 
population  even  found  a  livelihood  in  working  for  the  army  itself.  The 
British  officials,  on  account  of  the  international  rules  of  military  occupa- 
tion, were  as  yet  unable  to  abolish  the  existing  Turkish  laws;  they  did, 
however,  remove  the  abuse  and  misuse  of  them.  And  then  it  became 
possible  again  to  work  and  to  live. 

The  Jews,  however,  were  not  satisfied  with  mere  economic  salva- 
tion. They  began  immediately  to  give  attention  to  their  spiritual 
interests  and  to  their  political  organization,  in  order  to  make  the 
rebuilding  of  the  national  homeland  possible.  With  hearts  broken 
over  the  fate  of  the  greater  part  of  Palestine,  which  had  not  yet  been 
freed,  the  liberated  cities  and  villages  gradually  organized  their  communal 
and  cultural  institutions  and  began  to  prepare  themselves  for  the 
future  independent  national  life.  Every  act  of  theirs  showed  that  they 
still  realized  what  they  had  been  hoping  for  and  for  what  cause  they 
had  suffered  so  much. 

The  Weizmann  Commission 

In  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  however,  new  life  began  only  when 
the  Weizmann  Commission  arrived  (in  April,  1918).  In  itself  the  act 
of  sending  the  Zionist  Commission  proved  that  England  was  sincere 
in  her  Declaration.  Every  deed  of  the  Commission  was  a  step  nearer 
the  glorious  goal.  Zionism,  in  the  form  of  the  Commission,  seemed  to 
be  a  ruling  and  a  regulating  power  and  a  creative  force.  Aid,  recon- 
structive work,  and  the  management  of  the  cities,  the  villages,  the 
schools,  etc., — everything  was  normalized  through  Zionist  help  accord- 
ing to  the  Zionist  ideal.  Dr.  Weizmann  did  much  toward  unifying 
the  Jewish  population,  especially  in  Jerusalem,  in  a  way  never  before 
possible.  The  Hebrew  language  was  recognized  by  all  as  predominant 
in  accordance  with  the  outspoken  Zionist  purpose.  The  pinnacle  of 
the  important  work  of  the  Commission  was  the  laying  of  the  corner- 
stone of  the  Hebrew  University  in  Jerusalem  on  the  fifteenth  day  of 
Ab  (July  24,  1918).    The  historic  hour  had  struck.    It  was  the  official 

*  Ain  Gannim  and  Kf  ar  Saba  also  suffered  great  damage.  In  the  latter,  which 
stood  in  a  grove,  not  one  tree  was  left  standing. — Editor. 

223 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

notification  to  all  elements  of  the  local  population  and  to  the  great 
world  outside  that  the  Jewish  nation  was  laying  the  foundation  for  a 
national  existence  in  its  historic  home. 

The  Weizmann  Commission  also  paved  the  way,  by  its  direct 
action,  for  a  mutual  understanding  with  the  neighboring  populations 
in  Palestine,  especially  with  the  Arabs,  for  an  harmonious,  neighborly 
life,  and  a  common  effort  toward  the  new  culture  of  the  old  Orient. 

*..^~*itiiL\ 

The  Medical  Unit 

Even  though  the  political  elements  of  the  Weizmann  Commission 
were  at  first  recruited  entirely  from  among  European  Jews,  the  Ameri- 
can Zionists  participated  by  furnishing  the  greater  part  of  the  neces- 
sary funds.  The  American  Jews  also  contributed  a  very  important 
factor  at  this  time  in  the  form  of  the  Zionist  Medical  Unit,  which, 
through  its  forty-five  doctors  and  nurses  and  with  its  tons  and  tons  of 
medicines  and  clothes,  brought  to  the  country  much  needed  medical  and 
sanitary  aid.  They  helped  to  clothe  and  tend  the  pitiable  refugees  who, 
sore,  sick,  and  almost  naked,  came  down  in  hundreds  after  the  final 
conquest  of  northern  Palestine. 

The  Jewish  Battalion 

That  the  Jewish  population  of  Palestine  was  ready  for  the  new 
freedom  was  attested  especially  through  the  formation  there  of  a 
Jewish  battalion.  One  would  think  that  after  so  many  terrible  trials 
and  hardships  the  Jews  of  Palestine  might  have  taken  advantage  of 
their  liberation  to  seek  some  rest.  But  on  the  contrary,  hundreds  of 
Jewish  youths  and  older  men  who  had  just  come  out  of  their  dungeons 
and  from  their  hiding  places  in  cellars,  joined  the  Legion  with  fiery 
enthusiasm,  in  order  to  fight  for  the  complete  liberation  of  Palestine. 
Even  women  were  anxious  to  join,  and  vehemently  resented  the  preju- 
dice which  exists  against  their  going  to  war.  It  was  a  tragic,  solemn 
moment  when  the  new  Maccabaeans  lifted  the  Jewish  flag  with  the 
emblem  of  a  lion  tearing  off  his  shackles,  and  went  away  to  fight  side 
by  side  with  the  British  soldiers.  There  seemed  a  mystic  significance 
in  the  fact  that  the  younger  Rothschild,  son  of  that  great  Jew  who 
saved  the  first  pioneers  in  Palestine  from  ruin,  was  now  leading  the 
new  pioneers  who  were  going  to  give  their  lives  for  their  homeland. 

Complete  Emancipation 

The  fifth  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  5679  (September,  1918)  of  the 
war,  saw  the  last  of  slavery  and  the  first  of  freedom.   During  the  course 

224 


THE  WAR  AND  THE  JEWISH  SETTLEMENT 

of  the  few  days  of  Sukkot,  the  victorious  British  army  swept  north- 
ward and  eastward  in  a  most  remarkable  drive  and  liberated  all  of 
Palestine  east  of  the  Jordan  and  even  beyond  the  Lebanon.  The  Jewish 
Legionnaires  were  fortunate  enough  to  take  part  in  the  drive.  The 
whole  of  Palestine  was  opened  for  the  new  Jewish  life.  Tired  and 
exhausted,  the  exiles  and  wanderers  are  now  returning.  The  shadow 
of  sadness  caused  by  the  many  who  are  missing  is  the  one  cloud  over 
the  happiness  of  those  who  meet  once  more. 

Over  there,  the  bright  sun  of  freedom  is  rising  and  is  illuminating 
the  newly-made  graves,  a  few  ruined  gardens,  and  a  new  and  more 
fortunate  era. 

References: 

A  Palestine  Packet.  Beports  of  the  Weizmann  Commission.  Palestine  of  the 
Jews,  by  Norman  Bentwich,  Ch.  VIII,  pp.  178-192,  and  Appendix,  pp.  215-284. 

Subjects  for  Papers: 

The  Jewish  war  refugees  in  Alexandria.  The  effects  of  the  British  occupation  on 
Palestine. 


225 


APPENDIX  I 

REGARDING  THE  IMMUTABILITY  OF  JEWISH  LAW 

Note  on  Chapter  XIX,  by  Rabbi  Eugene  Kohn 

The  statement  of  Mr.  Amram  to  the  effect  that  "neither  the  Jewish 
religious  law  nor  the  Jewish  civil  law  can  remain  immutable"  and  that  "legal 
unchangeableness  is  a  legal  fiction,"  is  perhaps  in  need  of  some  qualification. 
In  the  form  as  stated,  it  may  rouse  the  apprehension  of  conservative  Jews,  lest 
the  legal  foundations  of  the  new  Zion  represent  a  radical  and  even  a  revolu- 
tionary departure  from  Jewish  legal  tradition.  When  we  reflect  that  to  most 
religious  Jews  that  tradition  is  holy  and  the  very  foundation  of  their  religious 
life,  and  that  their  very  Zionism  has  been  inspired  by  the  hope  that  in  the 
New  Palestine  this  tradition  will  find  the  opportunity  for  its  preservation  and 
development  which  are  threatened  in  the  Galut,  we  can  well  sympathize  with 
these  alarms.  A  careful  examination  of  the  adjustments  of  Jewish  law  to  the 
conditions  of  the  New  Palestine,  proposed  by  Mr.  Amram,  will,  however,  show 
that  it  is  only  his  abstract  statement  regarding  the  "immutability"  of  the  law 
with  which  the  conservative  Jew  need  take  issue  and  not  any  of  the  concrete 
suggestions  advanced. 

For  the  majority  of  even  conservative  Jews  do  not,  when  they  speak  of 
the  immutability  of  the  law,  mean  thereby  that  specific  laws  are  not  susceptible 
of  change.  Talmudic  and  rabbinic  literature  are  too  full  of  records  of  such 
changes  to  make  this  position  tenable.  At  the  same  time  their  belief  in  the 
immutability  of  the  law  as  they  understand  it  is  something  more  than  a  legal 
fiction.  What  they  mean  is  that,  however  individual  laws  may  be  changed  in 
view  of  changed  conditions,  the  ideal  that  these  laws  were  intended  to  enforce 
remains  valid.  Thus  the  law  of  release  in  the  Sabbatical  year  may  have  been 
virtually  abrogated  by  the  Prosbul  of  Hillel,  but  only  because  in  his  day  the 
law  was  seen  to  operate  against  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  designed. 
Instead  of  protecting  the  poor  from  the  exactions  of  their  creditors  it  merely 
"shut  the  door"  against  their  receiving  credit.  The  adherent  of  traditional 
Judaism,  therefore,  believes  that  although  laws  may  be  changed,  they  may  not 
be  changed  arbitrarily  but  with  due  reference  to  the  principles  underlying 
Jewish  legal  development  in  the  past.  In  this  way,  despite  the  changes  in 
specific  laws,  the  spirit  of  Jewish  law  retains  its  distinctive  character,  and  is, 
in  a  sense,  immutable.  The  law  of  one  age  may  differ  from  that  of  another, 
but  only  in  the  same  manner  as  a  man  at  the  age  of  forty  differs  from  that 
same  man  at  twenty  years  of  age.  The  record  of  life's  experiences  may  have 
modified  his  original  character  in  certain  respects,  but  he  is  nevertheless  the 
same  man;  the  laws  of  his  own  development  that  make  possible  only  certain 
reactions  to  these  experiences  assure  essential  spiritual  identity. 

If  we  examine  the  specific  recommendations  made  by  Mr.  Amram  we  shall 
see  that  they  are  in  no  wise  out  of  accord  with  the  development  of  Jewish 

226 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

law.  Take,  for  example,  the  matter  of  capital  punishment,  to  the  abolition  of 
which  in  the  New  Palestine,  Mr.  Amram  looks  forward.  All  who  are  familiar 
with  the  Talmudic  literature  know  that,  in  the  discussion  of  the  penal  law  in 
the  Talmud,  the  abhorrence  of  capital  punishment  is  shown  by  the  attempt  to 
hedge  about  the  execution  of  the  law  with  restrictive  measures  that  would 
make  it  almost  impossible  to  procure  a  verdict.  For  example,  a  capital  sen- 
tence could  not  be  passed  unless  the  offender  had,  previous  to  having  committed 
the  crime,  been  specifically  warned  that  if  he  committed  it  he  would  be  pun- 
ished by  death.  To  be  sure,  these  discussions  are  entirely  theoretic,  as  the 
execution  of  capital  sentences  was  not  then  in  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Jewish 
courts,  which  is  probably  the  reason  why  Mr.  Amram  does  not  refer  to 
these  discussions.  But  we  may  nevertheless  regard  them  as  evidence  of  the 
course  Jewish  legal  development  would  have  taken  had  it  not  been  arrested  by 
the  Roman  domination.  Indeed,  such  theoretic  discussions  carried  with  them 
as  much  authority  for  the  rabbinic  courts  of  the  middle  ages  and  modern  times 
as  did  the  law  that  was  actually  put  into  practice. 

Similarly,  the  changes  suggested  by  Mr.  Amram  in  order  to  adjust  the 
law  to  the  new  status  of  woman  in  modern  society  would  be  but  carrying 
to  its  logical  limit  the  process  of  equalization  of  the  rights  of  the  sexes  which 
is  clearly  discernible  in  the  history  of  Jewish  law.  An  interesting  account  of 
this  development  is  given  in  Ahad  Ha-am's  Judaism  and  the  Gospels.  It  is 
only  the  arrest  in  the  development  of  Jewish  law,  incident  to  the  Jews'  being 
subject  to  the  laws  of  other  nations  rather  than  their  own,  that  prevented 
this  development  from  reaching  its  logical  goal,  and,  with  the  conditions 
for  a  renewal  of  legal  development  assured  through  the  establishment  of  the 
Jewish  Commonwealth  in  Palestine,  this  tendency  can  be  permitted  to  work 
itself  out  to  the  fullest  extent  without  involving  any  disloyalty  to  Jewish 
tradition. 

There  can  be  no  gainsaying  that,  since  the  development  of  Jewish  law 
has  suffered  arrest  for  so  many  years,  far-reaching  changes  will  have  to  be 
made  in  order  to  adjust  the  law  to  modern  conditions,  but,  if  the  attempt  is 
made  to  keep  true  to  the  spirit  of  our  ancient  legislation,  the  continuity  of 
Jewish  legal  tradition  can  be  maintained,  and  the  principles  that  determine 
the  trend  of  Jewish  legal  development  can  still  be  held  to  be  immutable. 
We  are  still  the  same  Israel,  though  subjected  to  many  changes  in  the  course 
of  our  eventful  history,  and  our  Torah,  though  it  too  has  been  subjected  to 
change,  is  still  the  same  Torah,  and  the  two  are  inseparable.  The  continuity 
of  the  Jewish  Nation  assures  the  continuity  of  its  law,  for  that  law  is  not 
foreign  to  it,  but  is  the  expression  of  its*  very  soul. 


327 


APPENDIX  II 

TEST    QUESTIONS    IN    THE   ORDER   OF   THE   CHAPTERS 
ONE  FOR  EACH  CHAPTER 

They  may  be  used  either  as  review  questions  at  each  meeting  or  at  stated 
intervals  during  the  term  or  after  its  completion. 

I.    In  what  respect  does  Zionism  differ  from  other  solutions  suggested 
for  the  Jewish  Problem? 
II.    Compare  the  condition  of  Jews  in  America  to  those  of  other  lands. 

III.  In    how   far   is    the    prophetic    ideal    of    nationalism    embodied    in 
Zionism? 

IV.  Distinguish  between  the  Messianism  of  certain  periods  of  Jewish 
history  and  the  recent  Zionistic  ideal. 

V.    In  how  far  did  Jewish  emancipation  really  emancipate  the  Jews  and 

in  how  far  did  it  fail? 
VI.    What  has  been  the  effect  of  the  modern  anti-Semitic  movement 

upon  the  Jews? 
VII.    How  could  Zionism  appeal  to  men  so  different  in  temperament  and 
conviction  as   Hess,  Kalischer,  and  Smolenskin? 
VIII.    What  was  the  value  of  Hoveve  Zionism  as  a  forerunner  of  Zionism, 
and  what  was  the  weakness  which  made  it  inadequate  for  its  task? 
IX.    In  what  way  did  Herzl  change  Zionism  and  in  what  way  did  Zion- 
ism change  Herzl? 
X.    What  inferences  as  to  Jewish  capacity  for  self-government  can  be 

drawn  from  the  organization  of  political  Zionism? 
XI.   What  is  likely  to  be  the  effect  of  the  principles  underlying   the 
Jewish  National  Fund  and  the  Anglo  Palestine  Company  on  the 
future  development  of  Palestine? 
XII.    Describe  the  present  American  form  of  Zionist  Organization  and 
compare  it  with  that  before  the  Pittsburgh  Convention. 
--^^"XIII.   What  were  the  causes  that  led  up  to  the  British  Declaration  in  favor 
of  Zionism  (a)  British;  (b)  Jewish? 
XIV.   What  were  the  peculiar  Jewish  difficulties  and  problems  that  the 

war  brought  to  American  Jewry? 
XV.   What  are  the  essential  points  of  agreement  between  all  Zionists 
and  what  are  some  of  the  differentiations  which  have  found  group 
expression? 
XVI.   What  has  been  the  relation  of  the  Hebrew  revival  in  the  dispersion 
to  the  Palestinian  development  and  what  is  it  likely  to  be  in  the 
future? 
XVII.    Compare  the  ideals  of  Ahad  Ha-am  with  those  of  Herzl. 
XVIII.    Comment  on  the  traditional  Jewish,  the   Reform  Jewish  and  the 
Zionist  interpretation  of  the  mission  of  Israel. 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 


XIX.   What  will  be  the  problems,  religious  and  civic,  in  adjusting  Jewish 

law  to  the  needs  of  the  Jewish  land? 
XX.    What  are  to  be  the  chief  legal  safe-guards  against  social  injustice 
in  Palestine? 
XXI.    Describe  those  geographic  peculiarities  which  differentiate  Palestine 
from  every  other  land? 
XXII.    In  what  ways  are  human  effort  and  ingenuity  likely  to  change  the 
present   physical   characteristics   of    Palestine? 

XXIII.  What  were  the  forces  which  operated  to  keep  a  Jewish  settlement 
continuously  in  Palestine,  despite  the  unfavorable  conditions  there, 
as  compared  with  those  in  other  lands? 

XXIV.  What  were  the  motives  underlying  the  early  Jewish  efforts  at  col- 
onization both  on  the  part  of  the  settlers  and  of  the  various  agencies 
that  supported  their  work? 

XXV.    How  does  Jewish  life  in  the  new  Jewish  villages  differ  from  Jewish 
life  in  any  other  part  of  the  world? 
XXVI.    Discuss   the   general    aspects   of    the   relation    of   Jews   and   non-Jews 

in  Palestine  and  its  probable  economic  effects. 
XXVII.    What  has  been  the  effect  of  the  Halukkah  on  Jewish  life  in  the  cities 
of  Palestine? 
XXVIII.    What  have  been  the  effects  on  the  health  conditions  of  Palestine 
of  (a)  its  geographic  position;  (b)  its  climate;  (c)  its  government; 
(d)  the  character  of  its  inhabitants? 
XXIX.    In   view   of  the   resources   of   Palestine,   what   is   likely   to   be   its 

chief  industry,  and  why? 
XXX.    Discuss  the  export  and  import  trade  of  Palestine,  past,  present  and 

future. 
XXXI.    What  is  the  relation  of  Jewish  education  in  Palestine  to  the  Jewish 
national  revival? 
XXXII.    Discuss   the   practical    advantages    for    political   and   cultural   purposes 
of  Hebrew  as  the  vernacular  of  the  Palestinian  Jews. 
XXXIII.    Discuss  the  war  as  a  test  of  Jewish  strength  in  Palestine  and  as  a 
test   of   Jewish   good    will    in   the   dispersion,    toward   the    Palestinian 
venture. 


APPENDIX  III 
READING  CIRCLES 

The  Guide  for  the  Student  of  Zionism  may  be  used  by  reading  circles, 
a  chapter  being  read  aloud  at  each  meeting.  However,  for  certain  groups  other 
books  may  better  serve  the  purpose,  books  that  have  more  of  a  literary  or 
propaganda  nature.  Groups  which  have  completed  the  study  of  the  Guide 
may  care  also  to  take  up  other  courses  of  reading.  For  these  purposes  the 
following  series  are  arranged.  They  are  tentative,  of  course,  and  may  be 
supplemented  with  other  matter. 

I.    ZIONISM  (GENERAL  SURVEY) 

For  the  first  ten  meetings  read  at  each  meeting,  one  of  the  Zionist  Pamphlets 
(a  series  of  ten)  published  by  the  "Zionist"  of  London,  as  follows : 

1.  Zionism  and  the  Jewish  Problem.    By  Leon  Simon. 

2.  Zionism  and  Jewish  Culture.    By  Norman  Bentwich. 

3.  History  of  Zionism.    By  S.  Landman. 

4.  A  Hebrew  University  for  Jerusalem.     By  H.  Sacher. 

5.  Zionism  and  the  State.    By  H.  Sacher. 

6.  Zionism  and  the  Jewish  Religion.     By  F.  S.  Spiers. 

7.  Palestine  and  the  Hebrew  Revival.     By  E.  Miller. 

8.  Hebrew  Education  in  Palestine.     By  Leon  Simon. 

9.  Jewish  Colonization  and  Enterprise  in  Palestine.     By  Israel  M.  Sieff. 

10.  Zionism:    Its  Organization  and  Institutions.     By  S.  Landman. 

Then  read  in  convenient  instalments: 

11.  Auto-Emancipation.     By  Leo  Pinsker. 

12.  A  Jewish  State.     By  Theodor  Herzl. 

13.  The  Congress  Addresses  of  Theodor  Herzl.    Translated  by  Nellie  Straus. 

14.  Israel.    By  William  Hard. 

15.  A  Jewish  State  in  Palestine.     By  David  Werner  Amram. 

16.  Poale  Zionism.     By  H.  Fineman. 

II.    PALESTINE 

For  a  general  survey  of  conditions: 

1.  Lecture  (Dept.  of  Education)  The  Geography  of  Palestine. 

2.  Recent  Jewish  Progress  in  Palestine.     By  Henrietta  Szold. 

3.  The  Work  and  Problems  of  the  Jewish  National  Fund.     By  Leo  Dana. 

4.  Co-operative   Colonization  in  Palestine.     By  Dr.  Franz  Oppenheimer. 

5.  Hebrew  Education  in  Palestine.     By  Leon  Simon. 

6.  Constitutional  Foundations  of  the  New  Zion.     By  H.  M.  Kallen. 

7.  An  Industrial  Army  for  Palestine.     By  B.  A.  Rosenblatt. 

230 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

For    further    intensive    study    and    special    problems: 

8.  Syria,    an    Economic    Survey.      By    Dr.    Arthur    Ruppin.      Translated    by 
Nellie  Straus. 

9.  Jewish  Colonization  in  Palestine.     Methods,  Plans  and  Capital.    By  Jacob 
Oettinger. 

10.  Land   Tenure    in    Palestine.      By    F.    Oppenheimer   and   J.   Oettinger. 

11.  Co-operative  Colonization  in  Palestine.     By  Franz  Oppenheimer. 

12.  Merchavia.     By  Franz  Oppenheimer. 

13.  The  Palestine  Workers'  Fund.     By  Isidor  Zar.     Poale  Zion  Publication. 

III.     AH  AD  HA-AM  — SELECTED  ESSAYS 
Arranged  for  Reading  Circles 

1.  Guide  for  the  Student  of  Zionism,  Chapter  XVII. 

2.  Selected  Essays,  Introduction,  p.  12  to  p.  21  (III). 

3.  Ibid.  p.  21  to  p.  34  (VI) 

4.  Ibid.  p.  34  to  p.  40. 

5.  Ibid.  p.  306  (Moses)   to  p.  312   ("Lord  of  the   Prophets"). 

6.  Ibid.  p.  314  to  p.  329. 

7.  Ibid.  p.  205  (Ancestor  Worship)   to  p.  216. 

8.  Ibid.  p.  125  (Priest  and  Prophet)  to  p.  138. 

9.  Ibid.  p.  253  (The    Spiritual    Revival)    to   p.    264    ("its    own    work"). 

10.  Ibid.  p.  265  to  p.  279  ("national  wealth"). 

11.  Ibid.  p.  279  to  p.  293   ("in  the   future"). 

12.  Ibid.  p.  293  to  p.  305. 

13.  Ibid.  p.  80  (Past  and  Future)  to  p.  90. 

14.  Ibid.  p.  107  (Imitation  and  Assimilation)  to  p.  117  ("tendency  to  imitation"). 

15.  Ibid.  p.  117  to  p.  124. 

16.  Ibid.  p.  242  (A  New  Savior)  to  p.  252. 

17.  Ibid.  p.  171  (Slavery   in   Freedom)   to  p.   194. 

18.  Ibid.  p.  139  (Flesh  and  Spirit)    to  p.  148  ("by  its  law"). 

19.  Ibid.  p.  148  to  p.  158. 

20.  Ibid.  p.  217  (Trans valuation  of  Value)  to  p.  228  ("denial  nor  excuse"). 

21.  Ibid.  p.  228  to  p.  241. 

22.  Ibid.  p.  195  (Some  Consolation)    to  p.  204. 

23.  Ibid.  p.  159  (Many  Inventions)  to  p.  170. 

24.  Ibid.  p.  91    (Two   Masters)   to  p.   106. 

25.  Ibid.  p.  67  (Anticipations  and  Survivals)  to  p.  79. 

26.  Ibid.  p.  53  (Positive  and  Negative)  to  p.  66. 

27.  Ibid.  p.  46  (Justice  and  Mercy)  to  p.  52;  p.  41  (Sacred  and  Profane)  to  p.  45. 

IV.  FICTION 

1.  Yiddish  Tales,  p.  269.    Three  Who  Ate,  by  David  Frischman. 

2.  Ibid.  p.  29.  Earth  of  Palestine,  by  Jahalel. 

3.  Ibid.  p.  91.  A  Gloomy  Wedding,  by  Mordecai  Spectar. 

4.  Ibid.  p.  162.  Gymnasie,  by   Sholom  Aleichem. 

5.  Idylls  of  the  Gass,  by  Martha  Wolfenstein.    P.  31.    Shimmele  and  Muhme 
Maryam. 

231    • 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

6.  Ibid.  p.  85.  Shimmele  Chooses  a  Profession. 

7.  Ibid.  p.  51.  How  Shimmele  Became  a  Skeptic. 

8.  Ibid.  p.  69.  And  a  Scoffer. 

9.  Ibid.  p.  161.  The  Kiddush  Cup. 

10.  Ibid.  p.  261.  The  Source  of  Tears. 

11.  Ibid.  p.  279.  Shimmele  Prays. 

12.  Stories  and  Pictures,  by  J.  L.  Perez.     P.  21,  Domestic  Happiness.     P.  89, 
Seventh  Candle  of  Blessing. 

13.  Story  of  the  Jewish  People,  by  Jack  Myers.     P.  136.     Hillel. 

14.  Ibid.  p.  171.  Akiba. 

15.  Strangers  at  the  Gate,  by  Samuel  Gordon.   P.  142,  Towards  the  Sunrise. 

16.  Ibid.  p.  165.  on  the  Road  to  Zion. 

17.  Stories  from  the  Rabbis,  by  A.  S.  Isaacs.  P.  15,  Faust  of  the  Talmud.  P.  29, 
Wooing  of  the  Princess. 

18.  Ibid.  p.  135.  Rabbi's  Dream.     P.  161,  A  Four-Leaved  Clover. 

19.  Ibid.  p.  185.  A  String  of  Pearls. 

V.  OTHER  BOOKS  RECOMMENDED  FOR  READING  ALOUD 

1.  The  Palestine  Packet.    Letters  and  short  articles  from  and  about  Palestine 
in  war  time. 

2.  On  the  Eve  of  Redemption.  Short,  pithy  essays  on  Zionist  subjects  by  S.  M. 
Melamed.   Written  in  war  time. 

3.  On  Zionism  and  Jewish  Religion;  four  pamphlets: 

Zionism:    A  Statement.    By  Solomon  Schechter. 
Zionism  and  Religious  Judaism.   By  Israel  Friedlaender. 
Zionism  and  the  Jewish  Religion.   By  F.  S.  Spiers. 
Zionism  in  the  Bible.   By  Nahum  Sokolow. 

Two  Short  Books: 

The  Book  of  the  Nations.   By  J.  E.  Sampter. 

The  World  Significance  of  a  Jewish  State.   By  A.  A.  Berle 


232 


APPENDIX  IV 

ZIONIST    CHRONOLOGY 

1.    Movements  Toward  Zionism  Before  1897 

1809.    Founding  of   the   German   Dutch   Palestinian   Administration   Halukkah. 

1840.    The  Damascus  Affair  (Blood  Accusation). 

1845.    Colonel  Gawler  founds  in  London  a  Colonization  Society  for  Jews. 

1854.  Sir  Moses  Montefiore  is  received  by  the  Sultan;  colonizes  thirty-five 
Jewish  families  from  Safed. 

1856.    Ludwig  August  Frankl  founds  the  Laemel  School  in  Jerusalem. 

1860.  Hirsch  Kalischer  (Thorn)  and  Elias  Guttmacher  (Graetz)  make  propa- 
ganda for  the  colonization  of  Palestine. 

1860.     Founding  of  the  Alliance  Israelite  Universelle. 

1862.    Moses  Hess  publishes  Rom  und  Jerusalem. 

1870.    The  founding  of  Mikveh  Israel  under  the  management  of  Charles  Netter. 

1878.    Jews  from  Jerusalem  establish  Petah  Tikvah. 

1881.    Widespread  pogroms  in  Russia.   The  May  Laws  enforced. 

1881.    Leo  Pinsker  publishes  Auto-Emancipation. 

1881.  Eliezer  Ben  Jehudah  settles  in  Palestine — beginning  of  Hebrew  revival 
there. 

1882.  Founding  of  Rishon  le-Zion,  Ness  Zionah,  Zichron  Ya-acob  and  Rosh- 
Pinah. 

1882.    Restrictions  on  Jewish  immigration  into  Palestine. 

1883-1890.    Six  more  colonies  established. 

1884.    Hoveve   Zion    Conference    at    Kattowitz   as    a    direct  result  of  Pinsker's 

Auto-Emancipation. 
1890.    Odessa    Committee    for    colonization   of    Palestine    established   by   Hoveve 

Zion. 
1890.    Red  Ticket  limits  stay  of  immigrant  Jews  in  Palestine  to  one  month. 

1890.  Rehobot  established. 

1890-1897.    Fifteen  more  colonies  established. 

1891.  Founding  by  Baron  de  Hirsch  of  the  Jewish  Colonization  Association 
(I.  C.  A.).    Argentinian  colonization  movement. 

1891.  Ahad  Ha-am  visits  Palestine. 

1892.  Prohibition  of  Jewish  immigration  into  Palestine. 

1892.  Opening  of  Jaffa-Jerusalem  railway. 

1893.  Second  visit  of  Ahad  Ha-am  to  Palestine. 

1894.  The  Dreyfus  Case  in  Paris.    Dreyfus  accused  of  treason. 
1896.  Dr.  Theodor  Herzl  publishes  The  Jewish  State. 


233 


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240 


APPENDIX  V 

THE  JEWISH   AGRICULTURAL   SETTLEMENTS   IN   PALESTINE 
BEFORE  THE  WAR 

Taken  from  the  Palestine  News,  November   1,  1918 

Name 
Montefiore  Garden  Planta- 
tion. 
Mikweh  Israel 
Petah  Tikwah 
Hattin 

Rishon  le-Zion 
Ness   Zionah 
Zichron  Yaacob 
Rosh  Pinah 
Yessod  Hamaalah 
Yehudiyeh 

Mazkeret  Batiah  (Ekron) 
Gederah   (Katrah) 
Tanturah 
Bat  Shlomoh 
Rehobot 

Mishmar  Hayarden 
Bene  Yehudah 
Hederah 
Meir  Shfeyah 
Har-Tob 
Nahlat  Hayyim 
Moza 

Saham   el   Jolan 
Jolan 
Naffa 

Bet  Amma 
Bustas 
Metullah 
Ain  Zeitun 

Be-er    Tobiah    (Kastinieh) 
Sedjera 
Mahanayim 
Kfar  Saba 
Mes'hah 
Yibneel 
Melhamiyeh 

241 


Number 

Founded 

1 

1855 

2 

1870 

3 

1878 

4 

1878 

5 

1882 

6 

1882 

7 

1882 

8 

1882 

9 

1883 

10 

1883 

11 

1884 

12 

1885 

13 

1886 

14 

1889 

15 

1890 

16 

1890 

17 

1891 

18 

1891 

19 

1891 

20 

1892 

21 

1892 

22 

1894 

23 

1894 

24 

1894 

25 

1894 

26 

1894 

27 

1894 

28 

1896 

29 

1896 

30 

1896 

31 

1899 

32 

1899 

33 

1900 

34 

1902 

35 

1902 

36 

1902 

GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 


37 
38 
39 
40 
41 
42 
43 
44 
45 
46 
47 
48 
49 
50 
51 
52 
53 
54 
55 
56 
57 
58 
59 
60 


1904 
1905 
1906 
1908 
1908 
1908 
1908 
1909 
1909 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1911 
1911 
1912 
1912 
1912 
1912 
1913 
1913 
1913 
1914 
1914 
1914 


Bet  Gan 

Hephzibah 

Ben  Shamen 

Beer  Yaacob 

Mizpah 

Kinneret 

Ain  Gannim 

Huldah 

Daganiah 

Atlit 

Migdal 

Ruhamah 

Merhaviah 

Poriah 

Nahlat   Yahudah 

Kfar  Mallal 

Kfar  Uriyeh 

Gezer 

Kerkur 

Ramah 

Bitaniyeh 

Tel-Adas 

Dilab 

Kalandieh 


THE  JUDAEAN  SETTLEMENTS 


Name  Area   (Dunam*) 

1  Ruhamah  6,000 

2  Beer  Tobiah   (Kastinieh) 5,623 

3  Gederah  (Katrah)    5,970 

4  Mazkeret  Batiah  (Ekron)   13,000 

5  Rehobot 14,193 

6  Ness   Zionah    2,793 

7  Nahlat   Hayyim    1,540 

8  Rishon  le-Zion   14,634 

9  Nahlat  Yehudah  301 

10  Beer  Yaacob   2,040 

11  Mikweh  Israel  2,600 

12  Montefiore  Garden  City   103 

13  Yehudiyeh    120 

14  Petah  Tikwah  25,000 

15  Ain   Gannim    762 

16  Kfar  Saba   7,231 

17  Kfar  Mallal  4,220 

18  Ben  Shamen    2,329 

19  Huldah 1,973 

♦4.4  Dunam  equal  one  acre 


Population 

34 
170 
182 
360 
1,068 
199 

1,348 
80 
145 
153 

5 

3,279 
194 

96 

30 
120 

30 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 


20  Kfar  Uriyeh    4,800 

21  Gezer    6,900 

22  Har-Tob    4,727 

23  Dilab    1,500 

24  Moza  750 

25  Kalandieh   2,000 


131,109 


30 

149 

40 


7,712 


THE  SAMARIAN  SETTLEMENTS  (Near  Haifa). 


Name  Area  (Dunam) 

1  Hederah    32,500 

2  Hephzibah    5,908 

3  Kerkur   15,500 

4  Zichron  Yaacob  30,668 

5  Meir  Shfeyah  6,915 

6  Bat  Shlomoh  7,642 

7  Tanturah    352 

8  Atlit  6,800 


106,285 


Population 

300 

20 

50 

1,000 

50 


80 


1,580 


THE  SETTLEMENTS   IN   THE  PLAIN   OF   ESDRAELON 


Name  Area  (Dunam) 

1  Merhaviah   9,415 

2  Tel-Adas   10,000 


19,415 


Population 

100 

50 


150 


THE  SETTLEMENTS  IN  LOWER  GALILEE 

Name  Area  (Dunam)  Population 

1  Sedjera  17,720  200 

2  Mes'hah  10,120  250 

3  Yibneel    23,290  300 

4  Poriah    3,545  50 

5  Ramah 5,000  50 

6  Bet  Gan    5,681  50 

7  Mizpah 2,941  50 

8  Kinneret  9,000  100 

9  Daganiah    3,073  30 

11  Bitaniyeh    600  30 

10  Migdal  6,000  50 

12  Melhamiyeh   8,477  100 

13  Hattin   1,600 


97,047 


243 


1,260 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 


THE  SETTLEMENTS  IN  UPPER  GALILEE 


Name  Area  (Dunam) 

1  Rosh  Pinah   41,987 

2  Mishmar  Hayarden  7,569 

3  Yessod  Hamaalah  12,228 

4  Metulah  16,731 

5  Ain  Zeitun   6,016 

6  Mahanaim  8,500 

7  Bene  Jehudah    3,500 


96,531 


Population 
700 
100 
160 
300 

30 

20 

20 


,330 


THE  TRANS-JORDAN  SETTLEMENTS 


Name  Area  (Dunam) 

Saham   el  Jolan 30,400 

Jolan 12,300 

Naffa 22,000 

Bet  Amma   6,000 

Bustas 18,000 


Name 

Judaea  

Samaria  (near  Haifa) 
Plain  of  Esdraelon  . . 

Lower  Galilee 

Upper  Galilee  

Jolan  and  Hauran   . . . 


88,700 

SUMMARY 

umbers  of 

Colonies        Area  (Dunam) 

Population 

25                   131,109 

7,712 

8                   106,285 

1,580 

2                     19,415 

150 

13                    97,047 

1,260 

7                    96,531 

1,330 

5                    88,700 

60 


539,087 


12,032 


244 


APPENDIX  VI 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

I.  JEWISH  HISTORY 

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FISHBERG,  MAURICE:  The  Jews:  A  Study  of  Race  and  Environment. 
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FREDERIC,  HAROLD:    The  New  Exodus.     London,  1892. 

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KAPLUN-KOGAN,  W.  W.:     Die   Wanderbewegungen  der  Juden.     Bonn,   1913. 

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DANA,   LEO:     Work  and   Problems   of  the   Jewish   National   Fund.     New 

York,  1916.    $0.10. 
DAWSON,  J.  W. :    Egypt  and  Syria.    New  York,  Revell,  1887. 
FELDMAN,  J.:     The  Yemenite  Jews.     London.     Jewish  National  Fund.     1912. 

$0.05. 
FISHMAN,  J.  L. :    Der  Colonial  Fund  von  dem  Mizrahi.     (Yiddish)  New  York, 

1916.  $0.05. 

FISHMAN,  J.  L. :    Der  Eretz  Yisroel  Fund  von  Mizrahi.     (Yiddish)  New  York, 

1917.  $0.05. 

GOODRICH-FREER,  A.:     Inner  Jerusalem,  New  York,  1904. 

Hapoel  Hazair,  Haaretz,  Doar  Hayom,  Hashiloah,  Hahinnuk.  Palestinian  Hebrew 
Periodicals. 

HENDERSON,  A.:     Palestine.    Edinburgh,  1893. 

HOELSCHER :    Die  Geschichte  der  Juden  in  Palaestina.    Leipzig,  1909. 

HULL,  E. :    The  Geology  of  Palestine  and  Arabia  Petraea,  London,  1886. 

HUNTINGTON,  ELLSWORTH :  Palestine  and  its  Transformation.  New  York, 
1911. 

HYAMSON,  ALBERT  M.:  Palestine:  The  Rebirth  of  an  Ancient  People. 
New  York,  Alfred  A.  Knopf,  1917. 

JACOBS,  JOSEPH  D.:    The  Jewish  National  Fund.    London,  1916.    $0.05. 

JEHOASH :     Von  New  York  bis  Rehovos  un  zuruck.     New  York,  1918.    3  vols. 

JOHNSTON,  SIR  HARRY  H.:  Common  Sense  in  Foreign  Policy.  Lon- 
don, 1913. 

KESSLER,  L.:  History  and  Development  of  Jewish  Colonization  in  Pal- 
estine.   London,  1918.    $0.10. 

LEES,  J.  ROBINSON:    Village  Life  in  Palestine.    New  York,  1905. 

LE  STRANGE,  GUY:     Palestine  under  the  Moslems.     London,  1890.    $4.00. 

MacCOUN,  T. :  The  Holy  Land  in  Geography  and  History.  2  vols.  New  York, 
Revell,  1899. 

MacDOUGALL,  JAMES :  Geography  of  Palestine ;  Historical  and  Descriptive, 
for  Young  People  in   Schools  and  Families.     Manchester,   1895. 

MacGREGOR,  J. :  The  Rob  Roy  on  the  Jordan,  Nile,  Red  Sea,  and  Gennesareth. 
Murray,  London,  1886.     7th  ed. 

MacMILLAN'S  GUIDE  TO  PALESTINE  AND  EGYPT.  New  York,  Mac- 
millan,  1905.    3rd  ed. 

MacPHAIL,  S.  R.:  Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land.  New  York,  Scrib- 
ner,  1903. 

MASPERO,  G. :  Struggle  of  the  Nations :  Egypt,  Syria  and  Palestine.  New  York, 
Appleton,  1902. 

McGARVEY,  J.  W.:  Lands  of  the  Bible:  A  Geographical  and  topographical 
Description   of  Palestine.     Cincinnati,   Standard   Publishing   Co.,    1904. 

MERRILL,  S.:  East  of  the  Jordan.  A  Record  of  Travel  and  Observation  in 
the  Countries  of  Moab,  Gilead,  and  Bashan.    New  York,  Scribner,  1881. 

MILLER,  W.:    Least  of  all  Lands.    London,  Macniven,  1901.    2nd  edition. 

MURRAY'S  HANDBOOK  FOR  TRAVELLERS  IN  SYRIA  AND  PALES- 
TINE.   London,  1903. 

NAWRATZKI,  KURT:    Die  Judische   Kolonisation  Palaestinas.     Munich,  1914. 

Das  Neue  Judische  Palaestina.    Berlin,  1919. 

NEIL,  J.:    Palestine  Explored.    New  York,  Randolph,  1882. 

248 


GUIDE     TO      ZIONISM 

NEUFELD,    A. :     Der    Versuch    eincr   Bibliographic   fur   die   Zwecke   der   wirt- 

schaftlichen  Erschliessung  Palaestinas.     Vienna,    1901.  y 

ALLIANCE  ISRAELITE,  NEW  YORK  BRANCH:     Educational  Work  of  the    / 

Alliance.     1916.  y 

OETTINGER,  JACOB:     Jewish  Colonization  in  Palestine.     Jewish  National  S 

Fund,  Hague,  1917.    $0.30.  / 

OETTINGER,   JACOB,   AND    OPPENHEIMER,    FRANZ:     Land   Tenure   in    // 

Palestine.     Hague,  Jewish  National  Fund,  1917.    $0.07. 
OLIPHANT,   L. :     The   Land   of   Gilead,   with    Excursions   in   the   Lebanon. 

Edinburgh,   Blackwood,   1880.  y 

OPPENHEIMER,  FRANZ:     Co-operative   Colonization,  Jewish   National  Fund,    / 

Hague.  y* 
Merkavia:  A  Co-operative  Colony  in  Palestine.    Jewish  National  Fund,  New  ,■/ 

York,  1904.  / 

PALESTINE  PACKET,  A.:     Federation  of  American  Zionists,  1916.     $0.25.  ' 
PATON,  L.  B.:    The  Early  History  of  Syria  and  Palestine.     Scribner,  New 

York,  1901. 

POST,  G.  E.:    Flora  of  Syria,  Palestine  and  Sinai.     Beirut,  1896. 
PRESS,  JESAI AS:    Die  jiidischen     Kolonien   Palaestinas.      In:     Zeitschrift   des 

deutschen  Palaestina — Vereins,  Leipzig,  vol.  XXXV,  1912. 
RAFFALOVICH,  I.  AND  SACHS,  M.  E. :    Views  from  Palestine  and  its  Jewish 

Colonies.     Jerusalem,  1898. 
RITTER,  C:    Comparative  Geography  of  Palestine  and  the  Sinaitic  Peninsula. 

Appleton,  New  York.  / 

ROSENBLATT,   BERNARD   A.:     An   Industrial   Army  for   Palestine.     Zionist/ 

Organization  of  America,   New  York,   1918.     Free.  y 
Land  and  Labor  Problems  of   Palestine.     Zionist   Organization   of  America, 

New  York,  1918.    Free. 
RUPPIN,    ARTHUR:      Syria:      An    Economic    Survey.     Translated    by    Nellie   , 

Strauss.     Zionist  Organization  of  America,   1918. 

Zionistische  Kolonisationspolitik.     Berlin,   1914. 

Der  Aufbau  des  Landes  Israel.    Berlin,  1919. 

SAUNDERS,  T.:     An  Introduction  to  the  Survey  of  Western  Palestine,  its 

Waterways,  Plains  and  Highlands.     London,  1881. 
SCHEINKIN,  M. :    Eretz  Yisroel  in  Milchomo  Tzeiten.    Federation  of  American 

Zionists. 

Colonisation  Meglichkeiten.     Federation   of  American   Zionists.     5676.  -"" 

SCHUMACHER,  G.:     Across  the  Jordan.     London,  1886. 

The  Jaulan.     London,  1888.     $1.50.     Translated  from  the  German. 

SIDEBOTHAM,  HERBERT:    England  and  Palestine.    London,  1918.    $2.25. 
SIEFF,    ISRAEL   M.:     Jewish    Colonization    Enterprise   in   Palestine.     The 

Zionist,  London,  1915. 
SMITH,  SIR  GEORGE  ADAM:     Historical  Geography  of  the  Holy  Land. 

London,  1910.    16th  ed. 

Jerusalem.    London,  1908. 

STANLEY,  A.  P.:     Sinai  and  Palestine.    Armstrong,  New  York,  1877. 
STEWART,  L.  J.:    Land  of  Israel.    Revell,  New  York,  1903.    New  ed. 
STODDARD,  CHARLES  W.:    A  Cruise  under  the  Crescent.    Rand  McNally, 

New  York,  1898. 

249 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

STRAUS,  NELLIE:    Agricultural  Possibilities  of  Palestine.    New  York,  1918. 

Economic  Possibilities  of  Palestine.     New  York,   1918. 

SZOLD,   HENRIETTA:     Recent  Jewish   Progress   in   Palestine.     American 

Jewish  Year  Book.    Jewish  Pub.  Soc.  of  America,  Phila.,  1915.     Reprint. 

$0.25. 
TEMPLE,  SIR  R.:     Palestine  Illustrated.    Allen  London,  1888. 
TERHUNE,  A.  P.:    Syria  from  the  Saddle.    Bendett,  New  York,  1902. 
TOLKOWSKY,  S.:    Jewish  Colonization  in  Palestine.    London,  1918 
THOMSON,  W.  M.:    The  Land  and  the  Book.    3  vols.     Harper,  New  York, 

1882-86. 
TREVES,  SIR  FREDERICK:     The  Land  That  Is  Desolate.     London,  1912. 
TRISTRAM,  H.  B. :     The  Fauna  and  Flora  of  Palestine.     London,  1884. 

The  Land  of  Israel.    London,  1865. 

TRIETSCH,  DAVIS :     Handbook  of  Palestine.    London,  1907. 
TSCHLENOW,  E.  W. :    Fiinf  Jahre  der  Arbeit  in  Palaestina.    Berlin,  1913. 
WATSON,  SIR  C.  M.:    The  Story  of  Jerusalem.     London,  1912. 
WELLS,  J.:     Travel  Pictures  from  Palestine.     Dodd,  New  York. 
WILSON,  EDWARD,  L.:     In  Scripture  Lands.     Scribner,  New  York,  1895. 
WILSON,  W.:  Picturesque  Palestine,  Sinai,  and  Egypt.     2  vols.     Appleton, 

Yiskor  (Yiddish).     New  York,  1917.     2  vols. 
ZAR,  ISIDOR:     The  Palestine  Worker's  Fund:    Poale  Zion.     New  York,  1918. 

$0.10. 

IV.    ZIONISM 

Al'  Parashat  Derachim 

AHAD  HA' AM  (ASHER  GINZBERG):    Selected  Essays.    Translated  from 

the  Hebrew  by  Leon  Simon.     Jewish  Pub.  Soc.  of  America,  Phila.,  1914. 

$1.50. 
Pinsker  and  His  Brochure.     Federation  of  American  Zionists.     New  York, 

1911.    $0.15. 
AIMS  OF  JEWISH  LABOR :     The  Poale  Zion.     New  York,  1918. 
AMRAM,  D.  W. :    A  Jewish  State  in  Palestine.    Zionist  Organization  of  America, 

1918.    $0.10. 
BERLE,  ADOLF:     The  World  Significance  of  a  Jewish  State.     New  York, 

1918.  y 

BRANDEIS,  LOUIS  D.:      The  Jewish  Problem:    How  to  Solve  It.    Federa- 
tion  of  American   Zionists,   New   York,   1915.     Free. 
DEINARD,  E. :    Dibre  Ha  yammim  le-Ziyyon  be-Russia.    2  parts.    Kearney,  New 

Jersey.    1904. 
DONIGER,  SUNDEL  (Editor):     The  Zionist  primer.     Young  Judaea,  New 

York,  1917. 
ELIOT,    GEORGE:     Zionism,   an   Exposition.     Reprint    from   Daniel    Deronda. 

Zionist  Organization  of  America,  New  York,  1918.    $0.10. 
FINEMAN,  H.:     Poale  Zionism.     Jewish  Socialist  Labor  Party,  New  York, 

1918.    $0.15. 
FRIEDEMANN,  ADOLPH:    Das  Leben  Theodor  Herzls.     Berlin,  1914. 
FRIEDENBERG,  ALBERT  M.:     Zionist  Studies.     Bloch  Pub.  Co.,  New  York, 

1909. 

250 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

FRIEDLAENDER,    ISRAEL:      Zionism    and    Religious    Judaism.      Zionist 

Organization  of  America,  1918.     Free. 
FRIEDMAN,  ELISHA  M. :     Zionism  and  Jewish  Reconstruction.     The  Menorah 

Journal,  April,  1918.     Reprint.    $0.10. 
GOLDBERG,    ISRAEL:      Zionism:      Its    Theory,    Origin,    and    Achievements, 

Zionist  Organization  of  America,  1919. 
GOODMAN,  P.  and  LEWIS,  ARTHUR  D.:    Zionism— Problems  and  Views. 

London,  1916. 
GOTTHEIL,  RICHARD :    Zionism.    Jewish  Publication  Society,  Phila.,  1914.  $1.50. 
HARD,  WILLIAM:     Israel.     Metropolitan   Magazine,  Aug.   1918.     Reprint. 

$0.05. 
HAVAIDA  HASHLISHIT   SHEL   MIZRAHI.      (Third   Convention,   in    Chica- 
go.) New  York,  1916. 
HEMAN,  F. :    Das  Erwachen  der  jiidischen  Nation.     Basel,  1897. 
HERZL,  THEODOR:     The  Jewish  State.     Zionist  Organization.     $0.25. 

Altneuland.    Berlin,  1905.    4th  Edition,  English  translation  in  Young  Judaean. 

Zionistische  Schriften.     Jiidischer  Verlag.     Berlin. 

Congress    Addresses.     Translated    by    Nellie    Straus.      Zionist    Organization, 

New  York,  1917.    $0.15. 
HESS,  MOSES :    Rome  and  Jerusalem.    Bloch  Pub.  Co.,  New  York,  1918. 
JAFFE,  MAX:     Die  Nationale   Wiedergeburt  der  Juden.     Berlin,  1897. 
KADIMAH:     Issued  by  the  Intercollegiate  Zionist  Association  of  America, 

New  York,  1918. 
KALLEN,  HORACE  M. :    Constitutional  Foundations  of  the  New  Zion.    Zionist 

Organization  of  America,  New  York,  1918.     $0.10. 
KRONBERGER,  EMIL:     Zionism  und  Christen.     Leipzig,  1900. 
LANDMAN,  S.:     Zionism,  its   Organization  and   Institutions.     The   Zionist, 

London,  1915.    $0.10. 

History  of  Zionism.    The  Zionist.    London,  1915.    $0.10. 

LEVIN,   SHMARYA:     In  Milchomo  Zeiten.     Federation  of  American  Zionists, 

New  York,  1915-1917.     2  vols.     $2.30. 

Philanthropy  un  Selbsthilf.    New  York,  1915. 

Out  of  Bondage.    London,  1919. 

LICHTHEIM,  RICHARD:    Das  Program  des  Zionismus.    Berlin,  1911. 
MACK,    JULIAN    W. :      Americanism    and    Zionism.      Federation    of    American 

Zionists,   1918.     Free. 
MAKOVER,   A.   B. :     Mordecai   M.    Noah:     His   Life   and   Work.     Bloch   Pub. 

Co.,   New  York,   1917.     Cloth,  $0.75.     Paper,   $0.50. 
MELAMED,  S.  M. :     On  the  Eve  of  Redemption.     Bloch  Pub.  Co.,  New  York, 

1918.    $1.00. 
MIZRAHI.     (Yiddish).     New  York,  1917.    $0.10. 
NORDAU,  MAX:     Zionistische  Schriften.     Cologne,  1909. 
NORDAU,  MAX,  AND  GOTTHEIL,  GUSTAV:     Zionism  and  Anti-Semitism, 

Scott-Thaw  Co.,  New  York,  1904. 
PALESTINE  AND  JEWISH  NATIONALISM:     The  Round  Table,  March, 

1918.     Reprint,  $0.05. 
PINSKER,  LEO:    Auto-Emancipation.    Federation  of  American  Zionists.      New 

York.    $0.15. 
REPORT   OF  THE   ACTIONS-COMITE  DER   ZIONISTISCHEN    ORGAN- 
IZATION.    Cologne,  1911,  and  Berlin,  1913. 

251 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

REPORT  OF  THE  THIRD  CONFERENCE  OF  THE  MIZRAHI.     1916. 
RIFKIND,  LEWIS:     Zionism  and  Socialism.     London,  1918.     $0.05. 
SACHER,   H.    (Editor):     Zionism  and   the  Jewish   Future.     The   Macmillan 

Co.,  New  York,  1916. 

Jewish  Emancipation:     The  Contract  Myth.     London,  1918.    $0.10. 

A  Jewish   Palestine;   the  Jewish   Case   for  a   British  Trusteeship.     London, 

1919.    $0.10. 

Zionism  and  the  State.     The  Zionist,  London,  1915.    $0.10. 

SAMPTER,  JESSIE  E. :    The  Book  of  the  Nations.    E.  P.  Dutton  Co.,  New  York, 

1917.  $1.00. 

SCHECHTER,  SOLOMON:  Zionism,  a  Statement.  Federation  of  American 
Zionists,   New  York,   1906. 

SCHLESINGER,  MAX:  Reform  Judaism  and  Zionism,  Federation  of  Ameri- 
can Zionists.    New  York,  1907. 

SIMON,  LEON:  Zionism  and  the  Jewish  Problem.  The  Zionist,  London, 
1915. 

SOKOLOW,  NAHUM:  Zionism  in  the  Bible.  Reprinted  from  History  of 
Zionism.     London,   1918.     $0.10. 

History  of  Zionism,  1600-1918,  with  introduction  by  Hon.  A.  J.  Balfour,  M. 

P.   Longmans,   Green   &  Co.,   London,   1912.     2  vols.     $15.00. 

SPIERS,  F.  S.:  Zionism  and  the  Jewish  Religion.  The  Zionist,  London,  1915. 
$0.10. 

USSISCHKIN,  M.  M. :    Our  Program.    Federation  of  American  Zionists. 

WAXMAN,  MEYER:     The  Mizrachi,  Its  Aims  and  Purposes.     New  York, 

1918.  $0.10. 

WEIZMANN,    CHAIM,   and    GOTTHEIL,   RICHARD:   What   is    Zionism? 

Two  chapters  reprinted  from  Zionism  and  the  Jewish  Future.     London, 

1918.    $0.10. 
ZANGWILL,  ISRAEL:    The  Problem  of  the  Jewish  Race.    Judaean  Pub.  Co. 
ZIONIST  QUESTIONS  AND  ANSWERS.    Leaflet,  Zionist  Organization.  1919. 

$0.02. 
ZIONISTISCHES  A-B-C-  BUCH,  HERAUSGEGEBEN  VON  DER  ZIONIST- 

ISCHEN  VEREINIGUNG  FUR  DEUTSCHLAND.    Berlin,  1908. 
ZIONISTEN-KONGRESSE-PROTOCOLS.     Vienna-Berlin,  1897-1914. 

V.    THE  HEBREW  REVIVAL 

ABRAHAMS,  ISRAEL:     Chapters  on  Jewish  Literature.     Jewish  Pub.  Soc. 

of  America,  Phila.,  1899.    $1.00. 
BENTWICH,  NORMAN :    Jewish  Schools  in  Palestine.    Federation  of  American 

Zionists,  New  York,  1912.    $0.10. 

Zionism  and  Jewish  Culture.    The  Zionist,  London,  1915.    $0.10. 

BIALIK,  CH.  N. :    Dos  Yiddishe  Buck.    Histadrut  Ivrit,  New  York,  1918.    $0.05. 
COHEN,  ISRAEL:    The  German  attack  on  the  Hebrew  Schools  in  Palestine. 

London,  1918.    $0.05. 
COHEN,  NETINAH:    Jerusalem  Gymnasium.     Ha-Meir,  Jaffa,  1912. 
GOLDBERG,  ABRAHAM:     Hebraism  un   Yiddishism.     Zionist  Organization  of 

America.    New  York,  1918.    $0.15. 
MILLER,   E.:     Palestine   and   the  ■  Hebrew   Revival.     The   Zionist,    London, 

1915.    $0.10. 

252 


GUIDE     TO     ZIONISM 

RAISIN,  JACOB   S.:     The  Haskalah  Movement  in  Russia.     Jewish   Pub.   Soc. 

Phila.,  1913. 
REPORT    OF    ALL    HEBREW    SCHOOLS    IN    PALESTINE.      Federation 

Palestine  Hebrew  Schools  of  American  Zionists.     1916. 
RHINE,  A.  B.:    Leon  Gordon.    Jewish  Pub.  Soc.    Phila.,  1910. 
SACHER,  H.:     A  Hebrew  University  for  Jerusalem.     The  Zionist,  London, 

1915.    $0.10. 
SIMON,  LEON:    Hebrew  Education  in  Palestine.    The  Zionist,  London,  1915. 

$0.10. 
SLOUSCHZ,  N. :    The  Renascence  of  Hebrew  Literature.    Jewish  Pub.  Soc.,  Phila., 

1909. 

La  Poesie  Lyrique  Hebraique   Contemporaine.     Paris,    1907. 

USSISCHKIN,  M.  M.:   .Die  Erziehung  in  Erez-Israel.    Die  Stimme  der  Wahr- 

heit,  1905. 
WALDSTEIN,  ABRAHAM  S. :     The  Evolution  of  Modern  Hebrew  Literature, 

New  York,  1916. 

VI.    GENERAL  REFERENCES 

American  Jewish  Year  Book,  The,  Jewish  Pub.  Soc.  Phila.,  Pa. 

Apocrypha.     The   Cambridge   Edition. 

Bible,  The  Translation  of  the  Jewish  Pub.  Soc.    Phila.,  1917. 

Cambridge  Commentaries  on  the  Bible. 

Die  Jiidische  Rundschau. 

Dos  Yiddishe  Volk. 

Der  Yiddischer  Kaempfer. 

English  Zionist  Review. 

Hadassah  Bulletin. 

Haolam. 

Hatoren. 

Jewish  Chronicle,  London. 

Maccabaean. 

Menorah  Journal. 

Palestine.     Published  by  British  Palestine  Committee. 

Jewish  Communal  Register  of  New  York  City.    Pub.  by  the  Kehillah,  New  York. 

Jewish  Encyclopaedia,  The. 

Zionist  Organization  of   America.     List   on  request.     Department   of  Education. 


253 


INDEX 

Page 

Aaronsohn,  Aaron    88 ;  210 

Abel  Senior — founded  Dos  Yiddishe  Folk   73 

Abramowitsch,  Solomon  Jacob    113 

Actions  Committee — Executive  Committee  of  Zionist  Organization 58 

Agricultural  Experiment  Station  (at  Athlit)    210 

Agriculture — See   Palestine,   Agriculture 9 

Agricultural  Training   167 

Ahad  Ha- Am: 

Life  and  work  of   40 ;  46 ;  116-120 

Literary  activity  118 

Philosophy    119 

Relation  with  Zionist  Organization 120 

Jewish  villages  in  Palestine   163 ;  215 

Ahoozah    44;  77;  165 

Ain  Ganim 67 

Akiba,  Rabbi — hails  Bar  Kochba  as  Messiah  25 

Allenby,  General: 

In   Palestine    11 

Jewish  Legion 84 ;     85 

Enters  Jerusalem    88 

Alliance  Israelite  Universelle: 

Educational  work  in  Palestine 42 ;  48 ;  58 

Schools  in  Palestine  183 ;  203-205 

Allied  Government — Declaration  in  favor  of  Zionism    (see   also  Balfour 

Declaration)     11 

Alroy,  David  of  Bagdad 28 

Altneuland    55 

America — Jewish  Communities  in   (see  United  States) 14 ;     17 

American  Jewish  Congress   92-100 

American  Zionism — Growth  of 97 

American  Zionist  Medical  Unit   76 ;  99 ;  189-190 ;  224 

Amos 24 

Amram,  David  Werner   126 

Anglo  Palestine  Bank: 

Averts  crisis  in  Jewish  colonies  9 

Creates  sound  conditions  for  Jewish  Colonists 48 

Herzl  helps  found  bank 53 ;     54 

Makes  long-term  loans  to  co-operative  societies   66 

Subsidiary  bank  of  Jewish  Colonial  Trust   68 

Its  work  during  the  War 69 ;  197 

Anti-Semitism : 

Of  Western  Europe,  modern    4 

In  Poland 16 

Reasons  for   35 ;     36 

Social  and  political   ., 37 

Literary 38 

Arab: 

Nation     12 

Relations  with  Jews 173 

Assimilation — causes  of    18 

Auto  Emancipation — written  by  Pinsker   43 

Baal  Shem  Tob  32 

Balfour   Declaration    11 ;  85 

Other  countries  endorse 86 

Balkan  States — Jews  of  14 

Banking — see  Palestine,  Banks. 

254 


INDEX — Continued 

Page 

Bar  Kochba— The  rebellion  of 25 

Barondess,   Joseph 97 

Basle  Program    59 

Bamberger,  Ludwig — see  National  Liberal  Party. 

Bedouins 173 

Behan,  Dr. — Director  of  Jerusalem  Pasteur  Institute  189 

Behar,  Nissim    204 

Belkind,  Israel    206;  207;  209 

Bene  Moshe — organized  by  Ahad  Ha- Am 117 

Ben  Shamen — Jewish  National  Fund,  olive  groves  at 66 ;  193 

Ben  Yehuda,  Eliezer — reviver  of   Hebrew   as  national   language, 

46;  212;  213;  215 

Bezalel  School  180;  209 

Bialik  Hayim  Nahman — Hebrew  poet,  modern 113 

Bianchini — member  Zionist  Commission 88 

Bilu — student  organization,  founder  of  Rishon  le  Zion 48 

Birnbaum,  Nathan — (Mathias  Acher) — first  to  use  term  "Zionism" 23 

Bismarck — and  Anti-Semitism  37 

Brainin  Reuben — Hebraist 114 

Brandeis,  Justice  Louis  D 77;  81;  82;  136 

Brandes,  Georg — Danish  critic  endorses  Zionism 86 

British  Declaration — see  Balfour  Declaration   11 

Brunn,  Dr.,  Palestinian  physician   189 

California — Compared  to  Palestine    9 

Central  Committee   58 

Charkow  Deputation 56 

Chasanovitz,  Dr.  Joseph 214 

China — Jews  in  14 

' '  Chosen  People ' ' — the  Jewish  interpretation   6 

Chovevi  Zion — see  Hovevi  Zion. 
Christianity : 

Birth  of   26 

Anti-Semitism    38 

Christians  in  Palestine 175 

Colonies,  Jewish,  in  Palestine — see  Villages. 

Cowen,  Joseph — member  Zionist  Commission  88 

Co-operative  Farms    134 ;  166 

Cremieux,  Adolphe  157 

Cresson,  Warder 77 

Cutler,  Col.  Harry   97 

Damascus — blood-libel    157,  185 

Daniels,  Josephus   92 

DeHaas,  Jacob   73 ;     82 

Sent  to  Peace  Conference 97 

Diaspora — and  Palestine  176 

Diseases — see  Sanitation. 

Djemal  Pasha   220 

Dolitzki,  Menahem 113 

Dreyfus  Case  in  France   5 ;     37 

D  'rishat  Zion — written  by  Kalischer  42 

Dubnow,  S.  M 186 

Eder,  M. — member  Zionist  Commission   88 

Education  in  Palestine: 

Religious   schools    202 

Alliance   schools    203 ;  204 

Hilf sverein   205 

Beth  Hasefer 205 ;  206 

Agudas  Hamorim   207 

Town  Hebrew  Schools  207 :  208 


INDEX— Continued 

Page 

Special  schools 208 

Agricultural 209 

The  language  struggle   210 

El  Arish — offered  as  Jewish  homeland  55 

Elijah  of  Vilna,  the  Gaon 31 

Emergency  Fund    80 ;  82 

Emir  Feisal 86;  99 

England : 

See  Balfour  Declaration    11 

Jews  of 14;  17 

Epstein,  Dr.  H.  J 74 

Federated  Zionist  Societies  of  the  West — see  Order  Knights  of  Zion 73 

Federation  of  American  Zionists: 

Organized  1897  72 

Merged  into  Zionist  Organization  of  America 90 

Fellaheen 172 

Fels,  Mrs.  Joseph — sent  to  Peace  Conference  by  American  Jewish  Congress  92 

Forerunners  of  Zionism 40 

France : 

In  favor  of  Zionism 11 

Jews  of 14;  17 

Frankfurter,  Prof.  Felix 11;  99 

French  Revolution: 

Jews  leave  Medievalism  and  Ghettos  after  30 

Brings  Civil  Emancipation  to  Jews 33 

Friedenwald,  Dr.  Harry — goes  to  Palestine   73 ;  89 

Frischman,  David — Hebrew  writer    114 

Galicia — Jews  of    16 

Gaster,  Dr.  Moses — present  at  4th  Zionist  Congress 54 

Gaza 184 

Gentiles — and  Zionism 12 ;  118 

German  Jews — in  America 17 

Germany : 

Jews  of 14;  16;     17 

German  Zionists 88 

Ghettos,  Jews  leave  Ghettos 17 ;     29 

Ginsburg,  Asher — see  Ahad  Ha-am   116 

Goldberg,  Dr. — Palestinian  physician    189 

Goldberg,  Isaac 216 

Gordon,  Leon 32 ;  111 

Gottheil,  Dr.  Gustav 72 

Gottheil,  Dr.  Richard: 

First  president  of  American  Zionist  Federation 72 

First  editor  of  Maccabaean 73 

Greater  Actions  Committee 56 

Greeks   20;  25;     40 

Gymnasea : 

In  Jaffa  (Herzlia),  supported  by  Z.  O.  A 105;  207;  208 

In  Jerusalem  208 

Hadassah — "Women 's  Zionist  Organization  76 

Hadassah  Nurses  Settlement   189 

Haifa 181 ;  182 

Ha-ivri    114 

Ha  Levi,  Jehudah: 

Makes  a  pilgrimage  to  Zion 27 

Philosophic  works  in  Hebrew   108 

Holland — Jews  of 14 

Halukkah — Philanthropic  fund   of  "old"  Palestine  settlement, 

79;  158;  178;  180;  183;  202 

256 


INDEX — Continued 

Page 

Ha-Meassef — Hebrew  Journal  31 ;  110 

Hamelitz — Ahad    Ha-am,   editor    of    117 

Hantke,  Arthur — member  of  Inner  Actions  Committee 80 

Ha-olam    114 

Hashiloah 114 

Hashomer — Jewish  guards  in  Palestine   170 

Hassidim 32 

Haskalah— movement  for  secular  enlightenment  42 ;     46 

Hatoren 114 

Hatzefirah    114 

Hazeman     114 

Hebrew  Language    15 ;  107 ;  115 

Hebrew  University 211 ;  215 

Hederah — Jewish  National  Fund — garden  in   66 

Hilfsverein  der  deutscher  Juden: 

Educational  work  in  Palestine   58 ;  205 

Language  struggle   219 

Hellenism    41 

Herv6,  Gustav  (French  Socialist  editor) — in  favor  of  Zionism 86 

Herzl,  Theodor    39 

Founder  of  Zionist  Movement 40 

His  life  and  work .50-56;  136 

Autobiography  of  51 

Herzlia— suburb  of  Haifa 66;  182 

Hess,  Moses — Socialist  precurser  of  Zionism 40 ;  41 ;  136 

Hibbat  Zion  Movement — see  Hovevi  Zion   47 

Histadruth  Ivrith 115 

Housing  Problem,  the 167 

Hoveve  Zion: 

Palestine  colonization  society,  1882 44 ;     47 

Organized  in  America  72 ;  162 

Palestinian   education    206 

Huldah — Jewish  National  Fund — olive  groves  at 66 

Ibn  Gebirol,  Shlome — philosophical  works  in  Hebrew 108 

I.  C.  A.: 

Jewish  Colonization  Association  48 

Becomes  manager  of  Rothschild  interests  in  Palestine 164 

Palestinian  education    206 

Immigration,  Jewish — East  European  to  America 17 

Imperialism — foe  of  Nationalism  19 

Inner  Actions  Committee — ceased  functioning  during  war 80 

Intercollegiate  Zionist  Soc. — Organized  1915,  collegiate  branch  of  Zionist 

Organization    78 

Internationalism — defined 20 

Isaiah — His  conception  of  return  to  Zion 24 

Italy— Jews  of    14;  17;  40 

I.  T.  O.  (Jewish  Territorial  Organization) — formed  at  7th  Congress 61 

Jabotinsky,  Vladimir — conceived  the  idea  of  the  Jewish  Legion 84 

Jabneh,  Academy  at — see  Johanan  Ben  Zakkai 26 

Jacobsohn,  Victor — member  Inner  Actions  Committee,  remained  in  Con- 
stantinople during  war 80 

Jerusalem : 

British  Army  enters  11 ;  177-180 

The  old  city 177 

Population 178 

Pilgrims    179 

Jewish  quarters 179 

Sanitary  problem    186-188 

Hospitals 189 

Jesus    6 

257 


INDEX — Continued 

Page 

Jewish  Centre — value  of  10 

Jewish  Colonial  Trust  44 

Established  1899 60 

Organization  of    68 ;  134 

Jewish  National  Fund: 

Creates  sound  conditions  for  Jewish  Colonists 44 ;  48 

Pounded  at  5th  Congress  • 54 

History  of   64 

Flag  Day,  Flower  Day,  Olive  Tree  Fund,  Land  Donations  Fund 65 

Achievements  of   66 ;  134 

Makes  loans  for  building  of  Tel  Av 181 

Joint  Distribution  Committee — its  work  in  Palestine 82 

Judaism — and  Zionism 23 

Judenstaat — Herzl's  first  Zionist  work  45 

Kabbalah    27 

Kadimah : 

Student  society  at  Vienna   45 

I.  Z.  A.  publication 76 

Kagan,  Dr.  Helen: 

Zionist  woman  physician  establishes  clinic  in  Jerusalem 76 

Director  of  Hadassah  clinic   189 

Kalin,  Jacob — Poet 114 

Kalischer,  Hirsch   40;  41 ;  104;  161 

Kaplan,  Rose — Hadassah  Nurse   . . 189 

Kara,  Joseph  27 

Kattowitz  Conference — held  by  Hoveve  Zion 44 ;  47 

Kehillah — of  New  York  and  American  Jewish  Congress 93 

Khazayan,  H.  H 86 

Kinneret — Jewish  National  Fund  erected  model  farm  at 66 

Klausner,   Joseph — Publicist    114 

Labor  Problem  in  Palestine,  the   166 ;  174 

Landy,  Rachel — Hadassah  nurse  189 

Language  Struggle — see  Polytechnicum. 
Lasker,  Edward — see  National  Liberal  Party. 
Law: 

Jewish — and  Jewish  Land    25  ;  64-67 

Religious  vs.  Secular   127 

Civil  law   127-128 

Administrators     130 

Future  Laws — see  Appendix  I 130-131 

Lazarus,  Emma — early  American  Zionist   71 

League  of  Nations  21 

Legion,  Jewish — organized  12 ;  224 

See  Vladimir  Jabotinsky 84 

Levi,  Prof.  Sylvain   98 

Levin,  Dr.  Schmarya: 

Member  of  I.  A.  O,  goes  to  America  during  war 80 

Present  at   Extraordinary  Conference  in  America 81 ;  118 

Levinthal,  Rabbi  B.  L 97 

Lewin — Epstein — E.  "W. — member  Zionist  Commission   88 

Library  Jewish  National 214 

Lilienblum,  Moshe  Loeb   32 

Lipsky,  Louis — edited  Maccabaean,  secretary  Federation  of  American  Zion- 
ists and  Palestine  colonization   45 ;  73 ;     82 

Lithuania — high  degree  of  Jewish  culture  developed  in 16 

Maccabaean,  The — Founded  1900  73 

Maccabaeans,  the   25 

Mack,  Judge  Julian  W 11 ;  81 

Chairman  of  American  Jewish  Congress   97 

Maimonides    • 108 

Mandelstamm,  Prof. — leader  of  the  Hoveve  Zion   54 


INDEX— Confirmed 

Page 

Mapu,  Abraham — author  of  first  Hebrew  novel 110 

Marshall,  Louis  97 

Marx,   Karl 41 

Medical  Unit — see  American  Zionist  Medical  Unit. 

Mendele   Moher   Sefarim 113 

Mendelssohn,  Moses: 

Eesponsible  for  first  return  to  Hebrew  as  literary  medium 110 

And  Jewish  German  Assimilation 31 

Messiahism : 

Relation  to  Zionism  23 

False  messiahs — see  Moses  of  Crete;   Sabbatai  Zebi;   David  Alroy; 

David  Reubeni 27 

Meyer,  Walter — member  Zionist  Commission    88 

Mikveh  Israel  Agricultural   School,  near  Jaffa — founded  by   Chas.   Net- 

ter 142 ;  160 

Mizrahi  (Orthodox  party) : 

Developed  at  Third  Congress 60 

Protests  against  any  but  orthodox  schools  in  Palestine 62 

Their  aims  and  achievements  103-105 

Mohilewer,  Rabbi  Samuel — helped  found  colony  of  Rehobot 45;  104 

Molko,  Solomon — see  Diego  Pires. 

Mond,  Sir  Alfred — becomes  a  Zionist    87 

Montefiore,  Sir  Moses   157;  160;  183 

Morocco,  Jews  in 14 

Moser,  Alderman    207 

Moses 7 

Moses  of  Crete   28 

Mossinsohn,  Dr.  B 207 

Nahmanides 27 

Nationalism,  Jewish: 

Ideals   of    6;  19 

As  Spiritual  fact 21 

National  Liberal  Party,  in  Germany  37 

Nehemiah — the  return  to  the  Holy  Land  under  Nehemiah  and  Ezra 25 

Netter,  Charles — founder  of  Mikveh  Israel  Agricultural  School 42;  204 

New  York  City,  Jews  of 15 

Noah,  Mordecai  Manuel — first  American  Zionist  71 

Nordau,  Max  52 ;  54 

Odessa  Committee 47 

Oliphant,  Lawrence    160 

Oppenheimer,  Dr.  Franz — co-operative  settlement  established  in  accordance 

with  proposals  by  66 ;  134 ;  166 

Order  Knights  of  Zion — see  Zolotkoff 73 

Order  Sons  of  Zion — affiliated  with  Federation  of  American  Zionists 74 

Ormsby — Gore,  Major  W. — attached  to  Zionist  Commission 88 

Quoted    182 

Orthodoxy     40;  121;  122 

Palestine : 

Jews'  passion  for    8 

Jews  of 14;  15 

Effects  of  the  war  upon 79 

Geography    139  ff 

Climate 139 

Boundaries    140 

The  Jordan  Valley 144 

Tranjordania   145 

The  Negeb  146 

Fertility,  harbors    148 

Soil    150 

Transportation    151 


INDEX— Continued 

History    152-158 

Population    159 

Resources    191  ff 

Stock  farming 194 

Forestry    195 

Banks  and  credit   197 

Insurance    198 

Railways    198-199 

Harbors 199 

Imports  and  exports   199 

Education,  see  Education  in  Palestine. 

Palestine  Bureau    44 

Palestine  Land  Development  Co 66 ;  165 

Patterson,  Colonel — led  Zion  Mule  Corps  in  Dardanelles  campaign 84 

Pires,   Diego    28 

Pinsker,  Leo: 

Became  Zionist  leader   33 ;  39 ;     40 

Wrote  Auto  Emancipation   43 

President  of  Odessa  Committee 47 

Ahad  Ha-am  on   119 

Pittsburgh  Program    136,  137 

Poale  Zion — Socialist  faction  developed  at  3d  Congress ...  60 ;  62;  101-3;  135 

Poland 14 

As  center  of  Jewish  life 15 

Anti-Semitism  in 16 

Polytechnicum  at  Haifa 210 

And  language  struggle   214 

Pool,  David  de  Sola,  member  Zionist  Commission 88 

Population,  Jewish 14 

Protest,  rabbiner — protested  against  Basle  Convention 53 

Provisional  Executive  Committee  for  Zionist  Affairs: 

Organized  1914   81 

Assumed  control  of  all  phases  of  Zionism  in  America 90 

Merged  into  Zionist  Organization  of  America  90 

Publications  in  Palestine 214 

Rabinowitz,  Solomon — see  Sholom  Aleichem. 

Reform  Judaism  in  Germany  33,  34 

Attitude  toward  Zionism 121 

Rehobot — founded  by  a  group  of  Russian  Jews 45 

Reines,  Rabbi  Jacob  of  Lida — founder  of  Mizrahi 104 

Religion,  Jewish — as  chief  national  asset 4 

Reubeni,  David   28 

Richards,  Bernard  G 97 

Rishon  le  Zion   92 

Robison,  Louis — sent  to  Peace  Conference  by  American  Jewish  Congress . .  92 

Romans   20;  22 

Destruction  of  Second  Commonwealth 25 

Rothschild,  Baron  Edmond,  de 45;  161;  164;  165;  192 

Russia    14 ;  16 

Rumania 14 

Jews  of 16 

Anti-Semitism   in 37 

Ruppin,  Dr.  Arthur   166 

Saadia   108 

Sabbatai  Zebi   28 

Salonica — Jews  in    14 

Samaritans 185 

Samuel,  Hon.  Herbert — becomes  a  Zionist 87 

Sanhedrin   (1807) — called  by  Napoleon   33 

Sanitation'  in  Palestine .< 186,  190 

260 


INDEX — Continued 

PAGE 

Schapira,  Dr.  Hermann 216 

Founder  of  Jewish  National  Fund 60 

Schiff,  Jacob  H 216 

Schneeberg,  David — organizer  of  Young  Judaea 75 

Schneir — modern  Hebrew  poet   113 

Sefirot — see  Kabbalah   27 

Sephardic  Jews — in  America  17 

Shechem 185 

Sheinkin,   M 207 

Shekel — Poll  tax  of  every  Zionist   57;  58 

Sholom  Aleichem 113 

Shomerim,   Forming  of — see  Hashomer 48 

Sieff ,  Israel — member   of   Zionist   Commission 88 

Simon,  Leon — member  of  Zionist  Commission   88 

Smolenskin,   Perez    32 ;  40 

Writer  and  poet,  exponent  of  nationalism   43 

Founded  Journal  Hashahar   43 

Organizes  Kadimah    45 

Social  Justice  in  Jewish  State 132,  138 

Opportunity  and  tradition   132 

Democratic  organization   133 

Problems  in  Palestine 133 

Zion    Commonwealth    134 

Zionist  instruments  for  social  and  economic  justice 134 

Loan  societies,  teachers'  union,  Hashomer,  co-operative  organizations.  135 

Pittsburgh  Program    136,  137 

Sokolow,  Nahum — member  Inner  Actions  Committee 80 ;  85 

Spire,  Andre — on  Zionist  delegation  to  Peace  Conference 98 

Sprayregen,  Joshua — organized  Order  Sons  of  Zion  74 

Statistics  of  Jews 14 

Straus  Health  Bureau   189 

Syrkin,  Nahum 97 

Szold,  Miss  Henrietta 73 ;  82 

Szold,  Robert — member  Zionist  Commission    88 

Tahkemoni — Mizrahi  high  school    105 ;  208 

Tchernichowsky,  Saul — modern  Hebrew  poet  113 

Tel  Aviv — brought  into  existence  by  loans  from  Jewish  National  Fund .  66 ;  181 

Tiberias     183 

Ticho,  Dr.  Albert — director  of  clinic    189 

Tschlenow,  Jechiel — member  Inner  Actions  Committee 80 

Turkey: 

Jews  of 14 

Government  hinders  progress  in  Palestine   ....  15 

Turof,  Dr.  N 207 

Uganda : 

A  shelter  for  the  night 55 ;  56 

Offered  by  Great  Britain 60 

Umdjuni    67 

United  States — The  Jews  and  11 ;  14 

University,  Hebrew — foundation  laid    12 

Ussischkin,  M.  M 98 ;  118 

Verband  Juedischer  Frauen   208 ;  209 

Villages : 

In  Palestine 9 

Early  history  of   159 ;  164 

Vita,  Isaac 183 

War,  The  Great: 

And  Jewish  Restoration   9 

Its  effect  on  Zionism   79 

261 


INDEX— Continued 

Page 

And  Palestine   217 

The  danger  foreseen   217 

Self -Help  Committee    217 

Economic  oppression    219 

Political  persecution 220 

Jews   expelled   from   Jaffa    222 

Liberation  by  Great  Britain 222 

Warburg,  Prof.  Otto: 

Becomes  chairman  of  Inner  Actions  Committee,  1914 62 

Remains  in  Germany  during  war  80 

Weizmann,  Dr.  Chaim: 

Lays  foundation  Hebrew  University   12 ;     85  „ 

Acclaimed  a  leader   86 

Head  of  Zionist  Commission 88 

Influenced  by  Ahad  Ha-am  120 

Hebrew  University   211;  216;  223-224 

Welt,  Die— started  by  Herzl 53 

Wilson,  Pres.  Woodrow — letter  to  Dr.  Wise  favors  Zionism 11 

Winchevsky,  Morris   97 

Wise,  Dr.  Stephen  S.: 

First  secretary  American  Zionist  Federation 72 ;  81 

Receives  letter  from  Wilson,  favoring  Zionism   ^.  .  .  .  .     91 

Sent  to  Peace  Conference  by  American  Jewish  Congress 92;     97 

Wolf,  Israel — organized  52  Zionist  societies  in  America 72 

Wolfsohn,  David — succeeded  Herzl   as  chairman  of  Inner  Actions  Com- 
mittee         62 

Yellin,  David  215 

Yemenite  Jews    67 

Social  problem  of    133;  160 

Yiddish — origin  of  15 

Yiddishists 106 

Young  Judaea . 75 

Zangwill,  Israel: 

Present  at  4th  Congress   54 

Secedes  from  Zionism   61 

Zichron   Yaacob 192 

Zionism : 

As  folk  movement 9 

Only  solution  to  national  and  religious  problem 34 

See  Herzl   40 

American  Zionists  take  up  burden  during  war 80 

Judaism   121-125 

Zionist  Bank — see  Anglo  Palestine  Bank. 

Zionist  Commission: 

Sent  to  Palestine 11;  223-224 

Founds  Hebrew  University    12 

Its  staff,  etc 88 

Zion  Commonwealth 134 

Organized  by  B.  A.  Rosenblatt   77 ;  166 

Zionist  Congress   9;  44;  52;  53;  57;  60;  61;  62 

Zionist  Organization — political  representative  of  Jewish  people 58 

Zionist  Organization  of  America: 

Organized  at   Pittsburgh  Convention    90 

Becomes  responsible  for  all  Zionist  work  in  America 91 

Zolotkoff,  Leon — organized  Order  Knights  of  Zion 73 


262 


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